The term "the press" to refer to journalists didn't begin until the 1920s.
-PJ
The “press” referred to single sheet, hand fed presses which required a screw mechanism to actually “press” the ink on the paper. It doesn’t refer to high speed fully automatic “street sweeper” printing presses or magical radio waves and internets. < /gun control logic applied to the first amendment>
The "press" in the 1st amendment was literally the printing press. It was the right of the people to publish.
But what's worse, state lawmakers who make laws that violate constitutionally enumerated personal protections, or citizens who weren't taught their constitutional protections well enough to protect themselves from such lawmakers in court?
More specifically, the following 14th Amendment, Section 1-based federal penal law prohibits lawfare.
14th Amendment, Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States [emphasis added]; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
18U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law: Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom [all emphases added], willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color, or race, than are prescribed for the punishment of citizens, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if bodily injury results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death. —18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law
In fact, 1st Amendment-protected free speech applied to the states by the 14th Amendment actually protected defendants in California a few years back.
UC Berkeley settles landmark free speech lawsuit, will pay $70,000 to conservative group (12.4.18)
But I wouldn't be surprised if California taxpayers effectively paid the settlement, defeating the purpose of the law if so imo.
In other words, institutionally indectorinated judges may be letting taxpayers effectively pay 14A-related settlements instead of making the state actors who disrespected constitutionally enumerated protections pay it, preventing the law from doing its job to discourage state actors from abridging such protections if such is the case.