The problem is...
...one of validity. There was a series of SciFi books written by a bloke called Doc E.E. Smith about the galaxy-wide fight between good and evil, where he went on at length about the impossibility of REALLY proving that the ID of the good guys was genuine and sorting out the forgeries. Hence, we've got swipable passes, only issued locally, limits on temporary passes etc and all the hassle. The one good thing about being made redundant last year was that I no longer have to take my shoes off to go to work!
Actually, you're quite correct about journos. They are the REAL reason all these daft measures have been introduced. Every time a silly stunt is pulled and someone gets their photo taken airside having hidden in the back of a van or whatever, a new regulation gets dreamed up. Blame them, not the security staff!
TheOddOne