If you were the president, would you be inclined to answer questions from a journalist that was consistently antagonistic?<p>An American reporter can freely be critical of the government.  They can even publish Snowden documents, which put the government in a very bad light.  Nobody even considers harassing them, let alone jailing them.  (In fact, legally, they can&#x27;t.)  This fact is huge;  it is an essential difference.