Freedom Of The Press In The United States

Jordan Clarke- Freedom of the Press is part of the five main freedoms represented in the first amendment of the constitution of the United States. The constitution was ratified in 1791 putting freedom of the Press in full development and has since evolved and impacted current amendments and technology in modern day. We enjoy freedom of press under the First Amendment to the Constitution and it can be characterized as immunity from government control or censorship thus the right to publish newspapers, magazines and other printed matter without governmental restriction and subject only to the laws of libel, obscenity, sedition et al. Freedom of the press is fundamental to individual rights, without free media, a free society would not exist. By recognizing the right of expression and dissent, democratic government protect the right of people to express their opinion and encourage peaceful social and political change. Like most democratic nations in the world, The United States has had its own fair share of issues with free speech. From students getting arrested for protesting on college campuses to …show more content…
For example, during war times, the government has a duty to protect the people by keeping government tactics, weaponry, and plans secret to protect national security. The expression of these tactics is illegal because it would bring danger to the American people. Another important limit is the law of libel; the law of libel involves false accusations, defamation, and ridicule directed toward a person. If an accusation is made against someone and it destroyed their reputation and the accusations are proven to be false, they can be sued. However, if the accusations are true, then they have a strong defense. The Press must in most situations expose the guilty to the full extent without fear or