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Access to places

Whether a reporter wants to cover a demonstration on the courthouse steps, a crime that occurred in someone's home or the execution of a condemned inmate, the first hurdle to overcome is gaining access to the scene of the event.

A reporter's success may depend on the kind of property to which access is sought.

News events often occur in public forums — property that is publicly owned and open to the general public, such as city parks or sidewalks where demonstrations take place. But government property that is not generally open to the public as a forum — such as courthouses, jails, government offices and city halls — is called "nonpublic forum public property."

Private property generally presents more difficult access problems than public property. In most situations, the property owner cannot be forced to allow a reporter to cover an event or interview an individual on the premises. However, some courts have drawn distinctions between private property used for a private purpose, such as a person's home, and private property used for a public purpose, such as a shopping center. Some states treat the latter as a type of public forum.

Next section: Access to places: Journalists' right of access