Press Credentials and Hybrid Boundary Zones
The Case of WorldNetDaily and the Standing Committee of Correspondents
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12909229 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jordan Foley (0000-0003-0719-8315, University of Wisconsin–Madison, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 933-953 |
| Publication date | 2019-09-30 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journalism Practice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17512786.2019.1671214 |
| OpenAlex | W2977610420 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 29 |
Press credentialing practices are a vital, yet understudied site of scholarly research on journalistic norms and practices. Press credentialing not only structures internal professional hierarchies, but they also signify the boundaries of the journalistic field itself. This paper explores the legal and theoretical implications of press credentialing to cover the United States Congress, drawing on the concepts of boundary work and journalistic authority to demonstrate the material impact of the space between fields on professional legitimation in journalism. Using WorldNetDaily (WND) as a case study, I argue that the Standing Committee of Correspondents (SCC) occupies a hybrid boundary zone between the journalistic and political fields, generating a unique tension in First Amendment jurisprudence that places journalists in a paradoxical role as both the professional embodiments of free speech and its constitutional steward. The resulting jurisdictional conflict between the SCC and WND extends the relational model of journalistic authority by articulating how journalist-state relations can fundamentally augment the process of legitimation at its fuzzy boundaries. The relevance and implications for press credentialing practices in the digital age are discussed
Boundary (topology · Mathematical analysis · Media studies · Political science · Sociology · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Mathematics · World Trade Organization Law
Epilogue
Think Tanks in America
The System of Professions
The field of cultural production
Distinction
Non-Routine News and Newswork
Distinction
Blogging Congress
Field Theory, Cultural Capital, and the First Amendment
An overture for the sociology of credentialing
From behind the Walls
Press Gallery
Journalism Studies and its Core Commitments
Bourdieu and the Journalistic Field
Reporting from Washington
The Handbook of Journalism Studies
Metajournalistic Discourse and the Meanings of Journalism
Defending a Paradigm by Patrolling a Boundary
Journalistic professionalism as performance and boundary work
The emperor lost his clothes
Defending judgment and context in ‘original reporting
Doing double duty
News Media as a “Journalistic Field
Boundary-Work and the Demarcation of Science from Non-Science
Alternative Media
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |