Recent high-profile battles between the White House and corporate media outlets have resulted in historic bans, courtroom fights over press credentials, and the sudden exclusion of major networks from the Air Force One travel pool — and inadvertently exposed a dark secret. These public spats pulled back the curtain on the subsidized world of the White House press corps.

For decades, the public heard that West Wing reporters practice a sacred public service. But a glaring question remains. Why do taxpayers fund their workspace while media giants charge those same taxpayers a subscription fee to read the news?