Freedom of the Press
By Scott Summit
Mass Communications 1500
Professor Jason Allen
7/20/13
The United States Constitution
declares “Congress shall make no law respecting… the freedom of speech or of
the press…” (Constitution). Since the
constitution was ratified there has been freedom of speech in this great
country. Anyone who wanted to could
criticize the government, their neighbor or themselves. Newspapers were able to print views that may
not have been popular. Recently there
has been a shift from having absolute freedom of the press and speech towards
the government regulating the media and the press. This is not a good shift.
What do people mean when they say
freedom of speech and freedom of the press?
Freedom of speech and the press means that anyone and everyone can say
or print anything they want to without fear of being hurt by someone else. It means that the government or your
neighbors will not come in the night and take you away to prison. Unfortunately, the majority of the people no
longer know what these expressions mean.
Why is it important that the United
States media remain free? It is
important because the free exchange of information has helped America become
the greatest nation on earth. There have
been many wonderful inventions because people were not afraid to try new things. Many times the government has helped us solve
social problems because people were allowed to speak and write what has been on
their minds.
There have been recent headlines in
the news of a former National Security Agency contractor who told the media
that the NSA used surveillance to track Americans (Guardian). This
leak of information could potentially do more harm than good. Edward Snowden fled to China where he posted
online about the information he had made public. This leak of information has created headlines
about the ethics of such a decision.
Some have questioned the wisdom of
Snowden leaking the information to the public.
He has been called a coward. One
journalist questioned why Snowden had to flee at all; she says he was free to
express any political view (Washington Post). Others have called Snowden a hero.
Still others have called him a traitor (Newsfeed). They claim that the information given out
would compromise “national security concerns.”
Whatever you personally want to call him does not matter. He believes he has acted heroically and in
the best interest of the American people.
Since Snowden leaked the information he has sought asylum in Hong Kong,
China, and Russia. He is currently in
Russia. Edward Snowden said these words: “I
have been made stateless and hounded for my act of political expression”
(Washington Post).
Why would he want to stay away from
the United States, where free speech is protected as stated above? Many political figures here are calling for
whatever country he is hiding in to bring him back. “We continue to discuss with Russia our
strongly held view that there is absolute legal justification for him to be
expelled, for him to be returned to the United States, to face the charges that
have been brought against him for the unauthorized leaking of classified
information" (Guardian).
This new information has been
particularly upsetting to people here because they believe that there is no
reason for the government to use surveillance for Americans. There is a debate about whether it is ethical
for the government to do such a thing.
They question the reason the government is hiding such information. They
wonder why the government did not come out and say why surveillance was a
secret. It raises questions about what
else the government is hiding.
There have been many examples of governments
who controlled the media and what was known to the public. Nazi Germany, Communist Russia, and North
Korea are a few. These governments have used
propaganda to tell people what to think.
The people became so conditioned to what the state was telling them many
refused to believe the truth when it was staring them in the face. During World
War II the Nazi media was telling the Germany people that they were winning the
war, when German forces were in full retreat.
What are the advantages of
government controlled media? Some
include promoting a particular ideology, promoting unity, getting rid of
political opposition, and to controlling what people think. In the book Writing Today there is a story of a young woman who grew up in
Communist China during the Cultural Revolution.
She loved to read books before they were banned and one day she finds
another young woman who is reading “The
Little Mermaid.” Soon she and the
other young lady were reading and trading books with others who had hidden
them. One day her mother found out and
made her burn the books. Her mother did
this to ensure that no government official found out and punished the whole
family (Paine, p. 57).
I don’t know about you, but I would
rather have and read about opposing views than just one view. I am someone who does not like being told
what to do. I think diversity of
opinions is what makes America great. If
you disagree with me then we can work together to find the best possible
solution. If one person or party tells
everyone what to do and think we lose that ability.
In the book Hubener vs. Hitler a story is told of a young boy, Helmuth Hubener,
who formed a resistance unit against the Nazi regime during the late
1930s. Hubener and his three friends, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe, Gerhard Duwer and Rudi Wobbe would listen to the BBC broadcasts and distribute pamphlets with the information they had gathered. The Nazis at the time controlled tightly the news media. Listening to the BBC broadcasts was considered treason. The boys would print the pamphlets and distribute them throughout Hamburg by pinning htme on the bulletin boards, light posts and sometimes stuffing them into coat pockets. One day while trying to translate a pamphlet into French, Hubener was caught by the Gestapo. He was tried and convicted of treason. He was beheaded by the guillotine (Dewey). The only treason he committed was to try to help spread information about what was really happening.
These are a few examples of what happens when there is no freedom of the press and no freedom of speech. The exchange of information is tightly controlled by a few people who hold political power. In order to protect their power it is necessary to do this. In order to keep these rights that are protected in our Constitution we need to understand the meaning of the first Amendment and not allow the government to enact laws that would restrict freedom of the press and freedom of speech.
These are a few examples of what happens when there is no freedom of the press and no freedom of speech. The exchange of information is tightly controlled by a few people who hold political power. In order to protect their power it is necessary to do this. In order to keep these rights that are protected in our Constitution we need to understand the meaning of the first Amendment and not allow the government to enact laws that would restrict freedom of the press and freedom of speech.
Works Cited
Luhn, Alec and Elder, Mariam. The Guardian,
Guardian News and Media Limited. July 12, 2013. Web. July 20, 2013.
Dewey, Richard Lloyd. Hubener vs. Hitler: A Biography of Helmuth
Hubener, Mormon Teenage Resistance Leader. Provo: Academic
Research Foundation/Stratford Books, 2004. Print.
Katy Steinmetz. Time
News Feed. CNN, July 10, 2013. Web. July 20, 2013.
Paine, Charles and Johnson Sheehan,
Richard. Writing Today. Upper Saddle New Jersey. 2013. Print.
United States Constitution. Bill of Rights Amendment 1.
Washington Post Edward Snowden is no hero
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