What privileges does The Press have?

Answer 1

This is a really loaded question. I will give a brief summary, then a more detailed answer. My answer is regarding the press in the US, which receives more legal privileges than in its western counterparts in some ways.

The Quick Answer: The press receives a wide variety of legal privileges (in the form of protection from prosecution in some case and a right to be published) as well as access to people, places/events, and things that non-press individuals would not normally have access to. There is a common belief that 'The people have a right to know' and that, as a result, one is obligated to cooperate fully with any member of the press. This belief is false; it was created by the press, and is routinely reinforced by a system of rewards and punishments (failure to cooperate generally results in the uncooperative party being represented in an unfavorable light...). I mention this as a privilege because people questioned by the press will often divulge privileged information that they would not normally give to a stranger. This is counter-intuitive as informing a member of the press is potentially equivalent to informing millions of strangers.

A more detailed answer: The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...." (The omitted portions are regarding freedom of speech, religion, peaceful gatherings, and petitioning the state).

This essentially is colloquially termed 'freedom of the press', and basically means that the press is 'hands off' for the government. An example is during the (G.W.) Bush Administration when the New York Times outed a CIA spy in Africa without so much as warning the spy (who could've been captured, tortured for secrets, etc.). If an individual in the US had procured classified information such as that and then made it readily available to foreign intelligence services (and, of course, foreign intelligence service-members saw it on the news), he or she would be prosecuted under the counterespionage laws. Although this seems like a blank check for the press, the press is still governed in various manners. The government determines (I believe via the FCC) whether or not something shown on television is appropriate for general audience (hence you don't see nudity on the news), etc., and it also regulates the logistics of most electronic mediums used in the U.S. (i.e. government regulation of radio stations and frequency allocation).

Another privilege the press has is the ability to publicize information that is relatively inaccurate with little fear of repercussions regarding public figures, corporations, etc.

"Under U.S. law, in order to be guilty of Libelagainst a public figure... a publication must be shown to have knowingly or with "malice aforethought" disseminated facts that were false and defamatory...".

(source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Enquirer#Noted_stories_and_lawsuits)

Another privilege the press enjoys is a relatively lenient interpretation of 'invasion of privacy'; U.S. law theoretically protects its citizens from portrayal in a false light, however this is rarely applied to the media so long as they do not grossly fabricate facts.

Other privileges include access to many people, places, things, and events that individuals unrelated to the press don't generally have access to. The press has frequent access to VIPs such as presidents (though often through spokespersons), just about any coming out event (such as the unveiling of a new product), celebrities, and even places (such as studio's when doing movie reviews or 'Behind the Scenes' style pieces). Some of this is because people want their time in the spotlight; when Apple unveiled the first iPod, for example, it held a press conference so that it could get free publicity (which turned into sales which turned into $). On the flip side, there are instances when the aforementioned 'right to know' mentality is responsible. Additionally, modern investigative reporters have become skilled at ferreting out information against a targets will, and often publish it without regard to how it will affect the target (again, consider the spy).

Another de facto privilege enjoyed by the press it the privilege of accessing and publishing sensitive or classified information (spy!). This typically happens when a member of the press obtains information from 'an anonymous source'. This is privilege is fairly unique to the American press.

There are other privileges and more details, but this is already several times longer than I intended...