A free press is a cornerstone of democracy, holding the powerful accountable to the public.
It was concerning therefore that a political party with "democratic" in its name sought to exclude a journalist from its annual conference.
Amanda Ferguson, a freelance reporter and commentator, was temporarily denied access to the Democratic Unionist Party event last Saturday. The decision was later overturned after causing a stir on social media.
Read more: Brendan Hughes: DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson must find a way of saving face
The statement issued by the DUP on its actions at Belfast's Crowne Plaza Hotel raises more questions than answers.
Firstly, who made the decision? The DUP said "the party" asked its press office not to give accreditation to Ms Ferguson.
It suggests that while the DUP's head of communications John Robinson was the messenger who told Ms Ferguson she would not be permitted access, he was simply following orders.
Few in the DUP would have seniority over Mr Robinson but party sources denied the order came from the top. It was apparently DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson who reversed the decision.
Ms Ferguson said her chairing of an event on Irish unity by campaign group Ireland's Future, as well as her pro-choice views on abortion, were cited as reasons for her exclusion.
The party said it "reserves the right to decide who attends its events" and there is "confusion" over whether some members of the National Union of Journalists are "campaigners or journalists".
It is a flimsy argument that crumbles under scrutiny. Others permitted press access to the DUP conference had also participated in Ireland's Future events in the past.
The NUJ said it was unacceptable to deny Ms Ferguson entry "just because some in the party did not like what she had written".
At a conference where Sir Jeffrey sought to make overtures towards broadening support for the Union, this unseemly episode was entirely self-defeating.
"For me unionism should have no barriers to entry," he told party members. Perhaps barring a journalist was not the best way of showing this.
As news circulated of Ms Ferguson's exclusion, rival parties were quick to condemn the DUP.
But while this was one of the more overt examples, the DUP is not alone in attempts to limit press access. Other parties to varying degrees deploy tactics in a bid to control the narrative.
At Stormont for instance, it is a common occurrence that only a select few media outlets are notified of some press conferences and briefings, usually favouring broadcast media such as TV and radio.
The focus on serving the lunchtime and evening news bulletins is to the detriment of some print media, perhaps fearing the opportunity would be used to delve beyond the unchallenged soundbite.
The BBC's Nolan Show has been the subject of several boycotts over the years. The DUP long shunned the programme over its coverage of the RHI scandal, while Sinn Féin took issue with criticism over the Bobby Storey funeral controversy.
What is most worrying is the use of legal action by politicians against journalists and media outlets.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald is taking legal action against RTÉ over a programme which referenced the party's treatment of former Irish senator Máiría Cahill, who has said she was sexually abused by an IRA man.
There are fears this case influenced a decision by RTÉ not to broadcast a pre-recorded interview with former Irish government minister Shane Ross, who has just published an unofficial biography of Ms McDonald. RTÉ said it is not unusual for a pre-recorded interview not to be broadcast and "in this instance, we decided on other editorial priorities".
The NUJ warned that Ms McDonald's legal case could have a "chilling impact on press freedom".
Index on Censorship has also raised concerns over Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly taking legal action against two journalists over comments about the former IRA man's role in the 1983 Maze Prison escape.
The campaign group said the proceedings against Malachi O'Doherty and Ruth Dudley Edwards bear the hallmarks of "strategic lawsuits against public participation", or "SLAPPs".
The legal action has been listed on the Council of Europe's Safety of Journalists Platform - established to promote press freedom - as a "Level Two" threat under the category "harassment and intimidation of journalists".
Excluding journalists from party conferences is wrong, but other parties should also reconsider their actions if they truly believe in freedom of the press.
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