Because it they are given such protection by the Constitution as a check against the government pulling the wool over the eyes of its citizens. This prevents a government-controlled media, and allows for information to spread.
No; the Constitution protects the citizens' rights to freedom of speech and of the press. Nowhere does it mention being a member of a "news organization."
It [Government pressure for censorship] has been tried many times, the government is virtually never successful.
You might want to check your history. You won't have to go too far back to find examples.
Only when a real, imminent threat to US citizens lives can be demonstrated can the government take action, and it must go through a federal judge first. Even then, if I remember correctly, the government cannot stop the distribution of the information, they can only punish it after the fact. There was a NY Times case regarding this in I think the WW2 era, but I don't remember exactly.
That sort of specificity and clarity is the sort of thing that makes me think you have no idea what you're talking about. You're probably thinking of the "Pentagon Papers" case, but pretty much every sentence you wrote is incorrect.
Journalists get extra protections, but they also have a responsibility to the public. They can and do face legal action for intentionally lying about the facts they are representing.
As others noted, this is flat out wrong.
You can view membership costs here and there is a link at the bottom to apply.
Wikileaks has not become a member of any news association, and as such are not considered members of the press. That means they don't get a lot of the extra protections members of the press receive .... They could just become members of the press and be done with it, it isn't all that expensive to join.
You're joking, right? You think membership in IAPA, a regional organization, is the definition of "journalist"? Are you saying that the only reason people are hounding Wikileaks is because Assange didn't pay dues to this organization? You do realize how absurd that sounds, don't you?