1st Amendment Freedom of the Press

Prior Restraint Prior restraint is censorship of publications before the information is published. Many foreign states use this method of censorship to keep control of it’s people and not allow the international community access to their countries “problems.” The U.S. only denies the press from giving the public information when it pertains to matters of national security.

New York Times Co. v U.S., 1971 Story – During the Vietnam War, the NY Times printed the “Pentagon Papers,” documents that describe U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Amendment challenged – 1st Decision – The court ruled that stopping the Times from printing the report would be prior restraint and that the gov’ts concerns could not outweigh the 1st amendment. Impact – This validates the freedoms of the 1st amendment and the information that the public should be exposed to.

Can the press go to far? Can the press give away so much information that someone that is accused of a crime can be found guilty before he/she enters the courtroom? Can the freedoms of the 1st amendment infringe on a persons rights given in the 6th amendment? The right to a fair trial in case you forgot.

Sheppard v Maxwell, 1966 Story – Sam Sheppard was accused of killing his wife. The media coverage was widespread and made it difficult for the court to secure a jury. During the trial, the press published biased reports and interviewed witness damning any chance Dr. Sheppard had against a fair trial. Amendments challenged – 1st and 6th Decision – The court ruled that the press coverage created an unfair bias against the accused. Impact – The court offered suggestions to restrain press coverage from interfering with the work of the court.

What are these rules? #1 – Moving the location of the trial. #2 – Limiting the numbers of reporters in the courtroom. #3 – Limiting reporters actions in the courtroom. #4 – Isolating witnesses and jurors from the press. #5 – Sequestering (isolating) the jury.

What about Journalists protections? Does the Constitution defend reporters, especially allowing them not to give up their sources? The answer is no. The 1st amendment does not protect journalist confidentiality. Only Congress or the States may protect them from giving up their sources. To date, 31 states have Shield Laws, to protect journalists from giving up their sources, but not if they witnessed the crime.

31 states currently have shield laws for journalists to protect their sources

How does the 1st amendment protect . . . When our founding fathers originally wrote this amendment, they thought of the Press as books, magazines, and newspapers. Print journalism is considered sacred and given all of the freedoms that the Constitution allows, unless it threatens national security. What other types of communication have come along since then that they did not plan for? How does the government deal with those types of media?

What about TV and Radio? To have a radio or TV station, a company must obtain a license from the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). To obtain a license from the FCC, companies must comply with the stricter rules enforced by the government because they are broadcasted on public airwaves. Cable and satellite providers are given more leeway by the gov’t because they are not transmitted over public airwaves.

What about Motion Pictures? Why the government does not view movies with the same liberalities as books or newspapers, they are not in the same category as TV. Movies are forced to be rated so that the consumer (movie goer) has an understanding of what type of movie they are viewing.

What about e-mail and the internet? Because the internet and e-mail are considered print, the government gives the same protections to the internet that it gives to books. Can you see the danger in this much freedom?

What about advertisements? Advertisements are the most limited form of media because it is profitable speech.