In a democracy, the press conference exists as a bridge between power and the public — a space where those who govern submit, however briefly, to scrutiny. When One Nation's Victorian leader Warren Pickering addressed allegations of drug use at Crown Melbourne on Tuesday, that bridge was selectively raised: reporters from Guardian Australia and the ABC were turned away, while The Australian — the outlet that first broke the story — was permitted to stay. The choice of who may witness a politician's defence is itself a political act, and this one has placed questions of press freedom and accoun