The First Amendment Analysis

The free press plays a very pivotal role in society. Through the First Amendment, the press is allowed complete and total control over what it publishes or broadcasts, so far as it does not publish a false story that invades ones privacy. In order for members to be aware of what’s going on in society especially in a democracy, they must be informed. With the help of our free press, Americans are guaranteed constant access to critical and noteworthy news protected by the First Amendment.
The First Amendment became adopted on December 15, 1971. This amendment along with nine others helped make up the Bill of Rights. In its text the First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…” (Cornell). The First Amendment is important because it not only allows the public to become well informed but it allows the public help to govern themselves. In

Bruce Sanford and Jane Kirtley’s article, The Press, they state “first amendment freedoms are valuable because they help society find truth in the “market” of ideas” (266). This saying is also known as Holmes marketplace model. The First Amendment is so much more than just a ratification to the constitution, it’s a main reason why Democracy is so important in this country.
The First Amendment helps our society be responsible and powerful. The press serves as our spy, our watchdog and of course as our reporters. They stay on top of government happenings, business transactions and local events occurring near you. There are many important roles that the press plays. The press is not only in charge of educating and reporting to its viewers and listeners on what’s going on but the press has the power to talk to those of higher importance, inspire change in the world and provide information on major events taking place around the world. It is because of the press that we, the audience have the ability to take a stance on important events occurring as well as making our voice heard. Thanks to the many different media outlets considered press, getting a message out to the public has never been easier.
The media’s role can be classified into three main things. These three roles are surveillance, socialization and interpretation. Under surveillance, the media serves both the needs of the society and of the individual. The media gets to set the agenda and how they go about it but their goal is to provide the information to those watching and listening. This leads us into interpretation, which is a major concept for the media. They have to be able to interpret the events and put them into a larger framework. They must be able to communicate and analyze the events in a way that their viewers understand and comprehend enough to know what is occurring. Lastly, comes socialization, which helps the public learn the values of society and what is expected of a citizen. Socialization helps viewers communicate with one another about the topics discussed on the news. For these reasons the media does play an influential role in our society. Without these roles, the media would have no grounds to follow and thus be in complete power of what news they offer to us.
The role that the media is supposed to play in society however has consistently been blurred. Today more people tend to believe local news over national news. The reason for that is because news today is referred to as “infotainment” meaning it is more about the entertainment of the story rather than the facts. There are multiple problems with this blurred line. The first and probably the biggest problem is that the news can often be seen as biased. In today’s society we depend on the media for a lot and that is certainly true about politics. In Making Sense of Media & Politics by Gadi Wolfsfeld, a part reads, “this need for journalists to embarrass candidates is a perfect demonstration of the price modern democracies pay for having such an entertainment oriented press” (75). The news is in constant need for drama and immediacy meaning that if the article or show isn’t grasping its viewer’s attention, that person will continue to search until they find something that does. Therefore the news has to be bias to keep the attention of its viewers as well as being more about the drama than the content.
The other issue with the news is that it reports what it wants. That being said if they find something isn’t important they can choose not to report it and we would never know. They can turn heads away from the governmental debates or crisis’s going on in a different country. They have the power to do what they wish and that is kind of scary. We expect the news to be unbiased and reporting everything that we, as citizens should know but that’s certainly not the case. However the problem with the media and what they portray isn’t necessarily just the media’s doing.
In today’s society, the politically powered, the people that the media chase, want to control more of what the media shows and analyzes. Political figures want to monopolize the media to their advantage in order to gain support. Because of the First Amendment, reporters are protected from state sanction for unpopular speech, however private institutions as well as individuals still have the right to sue for libel and unlawfully invading someone’s privacy. In regards to privacy, I believe that by the media and journalists reporting private and secret information they are benefitting the public. The media’s job is supposed to be to find the truth and because of the First Amendment they are allowed to do that job. The issue is that with the government come certain restrictions such as limits on information given by the government. The press has the right to attend both court and the jury hearings however that right is not guaranteed; therefore the jury hearing can actually be conducted in private if the Judge wishes allowing the secrecy and limits on information to continue.
A classic example of why the press reporting secret and private news as a good thing is Edward Snowden otherwise known as Verax.

Edward Snowden was a former CIA employee and government contractor. In 2013, Snowden released numerous classified documents from the United States, National Security Agency. He leaked these documents to The Guardian, The Washington Post and The New York Times. While some officials view him as a fraud, I commend not only him but the press as well. They uncovered a story so riveting and important that it caused people to second guess whether the government could actually be trusted. The information he leaked revealed numerous global surveillance programs run by both the NSA and governments in Europe. Many journalists view Snowden as a hero because he helped them not only get their job done but reveal that government isn’t always honest with it’s country. I am a firm believer that is always better knowing than having to wonder what may be or what could have

occurred.
Journalists who publish private information are doing our country a favor. They are letting us in the know of everything that the government does not. While it may not always be for the better, it helps us as individuals have a say in what occurs in our country. It helps us be well informed and educated citizens, allowing us to express our opinions and let our voices be heard with the information we have. That is how a Democracy is supposed to be run and with the press they help to keep that going. While the press may not always be an unbiased outlet, they are a source of news for us: locally, nationally and globally. They provide us with the information we need to help govern our lives individually and as a society. Publishing secret information only benefits our citizens because we should be in the know of events that take place within this country.