Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
Government-issued press credentials increasingly determine which journalists may access public officials, attend government events, and report from restricted spaces. Yet the legal frameworks governing these credentials remain underdeveloped, discretionary, and structurally vulnerable to abuse. This Article examines the constitutional dimensions of press credentialing through the lens of procedural due process. It is the first law review article to consider whether press credentials give rise to protected liberty or property interests under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, such that denial or revocation requires due process.
Drawing on analogies to professional licensing regimes and recent litigation involving credentialing disputes, this Article maps the evolving doctrinal landscape and identifies key points of convergence and divergence across jurisdictions. It then situates these questions within the broader transformation of the media ecosystem, where independent and freelance reporters increasingly perform core newsgathering functions but face heightened barriers to access. Finally, this Article proposes structural reforms to insulate credentialing decisions from political control, drawing on institutional models such as professional licensing boards, congressional press galleries, and administrative oversight bodies.
In doing so, this Article offers a principled framework for modernizing press access systems: balancing legitimate government interests with the procedural protections essential to constitutional governance and democratic accountability.
Recommended Citation
Nicole J. Ligon,
Due Process and Press Credentialing,
130
Penn St. L. Rev.
379
(2026).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.campbell.edu/fac_sw/237