Civil Liberty: Freedom Of The Press And The Media

Decent Essays
The most important right of the civil liberty is the freedom of the press because freedom of the press allows citizens to stay informed, gives the people a voice to address wrongs, and gives citizens the ability to make better decisions and form opinions based on the information presented. Having a voice and being allowed to address wrongs is a powerful privilege. Being able to talk about the wrongs the government has committed informs the public, therefore affecting elections and protests. Free press and the media can be used as a watchdog over the government. Citizen’s opinions and decisions are based off of the knowledge they have of a situation that is provided to them by the press, and because the press has the freedom to say and publish what they want, people’s opinions are greatly affected by what is said. Some examples of how allowing the press to say what they want and how it is affecting the opinions of the public is in elections, or their bias in current events. …show more content…
People base their opinions and make descisions off of the information they receive in the news assuming that only the truth is reported. This misinformation can cause people’s opinions to be based off of lies. Also, freedom of the press allows citizens to stay informed and up to date. Staying informed is extremely important, especially during tragic or heroic events like the Boston Marathon, Sandy Hook, and speeches and debates by government officials. If citizens are not informed then they will be unaware of their surroundings and what their government is doing. The civil liberty needs to stay informed, form opinions, make educated decisions, and have a voice to address the wrongs and they can only do this because of the freedom of the press protected in the first

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