Let’s begin with the basics: the reporter still has a seat in the room. The stories still get printed. Democracy has not collapsed. The First Amendment is intact, though apparently bruised by the loss of a side table.
I’ve read the outcry — the legal theorizing, the claims of retaliation, the social media sermons about fascism and Section 1983. It’s passionate, no doubt. But it’s also nonsense. You don’t need a law degree to understand this isn’t a constitutional crisis. You just need common sense (and perhaps a brief tour through actual First Amendment law).
The press has no divine right to real estate in council chambers. That table wasn’t a constitutional guarantee, it was a courtesy. A freebie. And now it’s gone. Why? Because the people who extended the courtesy felt it was being abused. That’s not censorship. That’s the consequence of lost trust.
