Long before Walter Matthau donned a fedora with a “PRESS” card in the brim in the 1974 movie The Front Page, newspaper reporters in America's big cities were flashing their press badges to get close to the scene of the crime.
To do their jobs, crime and breaking news reporters at big-city newspapers needed to be able to cross fire or police lines - barriers set up to keep the nosy public a safe distance from crime scenes or burning houses. Some early newspaper badges were made specifically to allow the bearer to pass through the fire line, giving access to interview officials or for a closer, often more graphic, view for photographers.
Before paper ID's or laminated plastic press passes became the standard, reporters and photographers wore distinctive nickel-plated brass badges which were almost identical to those worn by cops and firefighters. In fact, many of the badges were issued to members of the “working press” by police or fire departments in Boston, New
