The Free Press: Silencing of Democracy
A world without media would be a world of mass chaos. Honestly though, people around the globe would have no idea how to talk to one another, no idea when the next big social event was happening at a university, and most importantly, no idea what is going on in the world around us. Censoring of journalists is a topic that has been surrounded with much debate because they play such an evident and important role in our lives, which cannot be denied. While being imperative to our society, the government interference with the media has the potential to limit the rights of free speech among the press, which would go against the rights given in the Constitution, and ultimately lead to the loss of free media …show more content…
An article published in USA Today Magazine fully encompasses the negative evolution of censorship in daily media, as it “cannot act as a watchdog for the public, which is its Constitutional role” (“Rules for Media Threaten Free Speech” 2). Resulting from the Fairness Doctrine that was revoked in the mid 1980s because its suppression of viewpoints on public issues, a new FCC restriction, the Localism Doctrine, has been attempted to be put in place. The Doctrine would further implement government restrictions on television media, placing government opinions in the mouth of journalists if their viewpoints do not meet expectations (“Rules for Media Threaten Free Speech” 2). As the FCC has taken over control of the internet, the expectation among the government is to have the broadcast spectrum transferred to the internet in the next 10 years, which would give the government full …show more content…
Understanding the positive role that the media plays in American lives if crucial. After all, the media plays almost as an important role in our lives as Congress: the voices of free people cannot be voiced without it. The power of the government in the media will continue to grow, but as long as freedom of the press is still in the Constitution, the media’s place in our social society will remain. For now, at
A world without media would be a world of mass chaos. Honestly though, people around the globe would have no idea how to talk to one another, no idea when the next big social event was happening at a university, and most importantly, no idea what is going on in the world around us. Censoring of journalists is a topic that has been surrounded with much debate because they play such an evident and important role in our lives, which cannot be denied. While being imperative to our society, the government interference with the media has the potential to limit the rights of free speech among the press, which would go against the rights given in the Constitution, and ultimately lead to the loss of free media …show more content…
An article published in USA Today Magazine fully encompasses the negative evolution of censorship in daily media, as it “cannot act as a watchdog for the public, which is its Constitutional role” (“Rules for Media Threaten Free Speech” 2). Resulting from the Fairness Doctrine that was revoked in the mid 1980s because its suppression of viewpoints on public issues, a new FCC restriction, the Localism Doctrine, has been attempted to be put in place. The Doctrine would further implement government restrictions on television media, placing government opinions in the mouth of journalists if their viewpoints do not meet expectations (“Rules for Media Threaten Free Speech” 2). As the FCC has taken over control of the internet, the expectation among the government is to have the broadcast spectrum transferred to the internet in the next 10 years, which would give the government full …show more content…
Understanding the positive role that the media plays in American lives if crucial. After all, the media plays almost as an important role in our lives as Congress: the voices of free people cannot be voiced without it. The power of the government in the media will continue to grow, but as long as freedom of the press is still in the Constitution, the media’s place in our social society will remain. For now, at