Can bloggers get press passes?
Yes. Some government agencies have established procedures for obtaining press credentials (a means of identifying yourself as a journalist). Government agencies are prohibited from deciding arbitrarily whether you are entitled to a press credential, and are required to publish the standards used. See, e.g. the State Department Press Credential Standards. For example, a federal court determined that Consumer Reports was unconstitutionally denied access to the Congressional press gallery based on “arbitrary and unnecessary regulations with a view to excluding from news sources representatives of publications whose ownership or ideas they consider objectionable.” An online journalist seeking access to the Congressional press gallery was initially denied access because he was not a full-time journalist, and not working on salary for a for-profit organization. However, the Periodical Correspondents’ Association, which determines access, subsequently adopted broader regulations that allowed
