Founders wanted a protected press, not an elitist class

Freedom of the press was intended to be protected in that the practices of the British Crown at the time was to silence voiced and printed opinion by jailing the dissenters.

The First Amendment was never intended to give the press elite status or guarantee that its rights overshadowed those of other citizens.

The press has a duty to faithfully investigate issues that affect the public and report upon them but it has never been given a free hand to trespass, violate and trample the rights of others.

For some reason, especially over the last 50 years, members of the press have been encouraged to be aggressive and confrontational, believing that their "Right to know" supersedes every other citizen's rights.

A free press operates with respect for the rights of others because it has a responsibility to protect those rights by publishing corroborated facts, which is the opposite of how many in the media now conduct their business.

What occurred at the White House, where a member of the press corps' pass was revoked, is an example of just how unconscionably disrespectful the press has become of others' rights by taking license to act the boor.

No member of the press has the right to abuse their station any more than a government official may abuse theirs.

https://canadafreepress.com/article/founders-wanted-a-protected-press-not-an-elitist-class