Press gallery

The press gallery is the part of a parliament, or other legislative body, where political journalists are allowed to sit or gather to observe and then report speeches and events.

The press galleries in Congress are operated by superintendents, appointed by the House and Senate sergeants at arms, and by Standing Committees of Correspondents, elected by the journalists.

Press passes were issued only to those whose primary source of income was journalism, and who reported by telegraph to a daily newspaper.

Nineteenth-century women reporters were confined to social news coverage, which did not justify the cost of telegraphing.

After initial resistance, the press galleries adjusted their rules to admit those who earn their living from their journalism, and who are not underwritten by advocacy groups.