Freedom Of The Press Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Freedom of the press is the right to publish information and opinions and disseminate it to the public without interference from the government. It is both an individual and an organizational right. This means that it applies to both individual people and organizations that publish written material, such as newspapers and publishing houses. However, with the advent of modern technology, the term press has taken on an expansive meaning; it is not limited to just the printed word. Freedom of the press also includes electronic publishing media, such as news broadcasts on television and blogs on the Internet.

Constitutional Right

Freedom of the press is located in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. Although freedom of the press is part of the First Amendment and intricately linked to freedom of speech, it is a separate and distinct right. In America, freedom of the press is a fundamental right, which means that it has the highest level of protection in the American political and legal system. However, this freedom is not absolute.

In modern times, there are a number of laws prohibiting certain public statements involving, for example, libel, obscenity, and national security. Libel is the defamation of a person through the written word. A person who has been defamed in writing generally has the right to sue for damages and equitable relief prohibiting the defamation in court. However, if a person is a public figure or a private person who speaks publicly on an issue of public concern, then the protections provided by libel laws are reduced. The publication of criticisms of public officials and statements on matters of public concern are considered to be essential to a free political system. Furthermore, the government cannot be libeled. In the realm of politics and American political theory, this is an essential protection; otherwise, the ruling party would be able to easily stifle dissent and opposition.

Sedition And National Security

Indeed, in 1798, the infamous Alien and Sedition Acts, enacted under President John Adams, made it a crime to criticize the government and were intended to stifle political opposition. President Thomas Jefferson subsequently pardoned the people convicted under the Sedition Act. Although the Sedition Act was not tested in court, because it had expired, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized its unconstitutionality in the famous case of New York Times v. United States (1971) as being the antithesis of American democracy.

National security can also be a reason for limiting freedom of the press. The Smith Act of 1940 made it a criminal offense to advocate for the violent overthrow of the U.S. government. In the related case of Dennis v. United States (1951), which concerned people who were members of the Communist Party advocating the violent overthrow of the government, the Supreme Court found that if a publication presents a clear and present danger resulting in the illegal evil meant to be prevented, then the First Amendment will not protect the publication. Dennis’s conviction was upheld. This principle was reinforced in the famous decision of New York Times v. United States (1971), when the Supreme Court ruled that the publication of the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War (1959–1975), which revealed information about the conduct of the war that embarrassed the U.S. government, was protected by the right to freedom of the press, as there was no clear and present danger to national security.

Obscenity

Obscenity is difficult to define. In American society, there have been numerous cases involving what is obscene and not protected by the First Amendment. In the famous case of Miller v. California (1973), which involved a person distributing obscene material, the U.S. Supreme Court defined something as obscene if it met the following test: (1) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; (2) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct; and (3) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. The difficulty of applying this definition is highlighted by the statement of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart— even though he could not define obscenity, he knew it when he saw it. Obscenity can have an important role in political debate. For example, in the case of Cohen v. California (1971), the Supreme Court found that the use of the phrase “Fuck the draft” (worn on a T-shirt) was protected by the First Amendment, as at the time of the Vietnam War, the draft was a serious political issue. In the opinion, Justice Harlan noted that one man’s vulgarity may be another man’s lyric.

Conclusion

Whatever the for m or purpose, it is widely accepted that freedom of the press was primarily enacted for the protection of political discourse. At the time of the American Revolution (1776–1783), much of the impetus and support for the revolution was based in the publications of such luminaries as Benjamin Franklin. Indeed, political speech, to include statements in the press, is given the highest level of protection under the First Amendment, as opposed to other forms of speech, such as commercial speech and advertisement.

Freedom of the press is also recognized internationally. In article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the right to a free media is recognized.

Bibliography:

Clyde,William M. The Struggle for the Freedom of the Press. New York: Burt Franklin, 1970.
Hocking,William E. Freedom of the Press: A Framework of Principle. New York: De Capo, 1972.
Hohenberg, John. Free Press/Free People. New York: Columbia University Press, 1971.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 1966.
Levy, Leonard W. Emergence of a Free Press. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.
Schwartz, Bernard. Freedom of the Press. New York: Facts on File, 1992.
S. Bill of Rights. 1791. U.S. Constitution. 1788.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1948.