The Timeless Necessity of a Truly Free Press

For Polis the fact that the stories originated in an outlet with these conservative backers was enough to make the articles according to Cahill39s statement to The Denver Post unfit for quotthe people of Coloradoquot Fortunately both local papers refused to take down the stories Kiowa County Press publisher Chris Sorensen remarked quotMy hope is that this situation was just an extremely unfortunate error in judgment for a stillnew administrationquotHighranking political figures adopting a combative approach towards press they oppose is a longstanding impulse in American politics It certainly predates President Trump39s jeers at the journalists covering his campaign events And it was the case long before the Obama administration39s conflict with Fox News including the infamous effort to exclude the network from a roundtable with Treasury Department official Ken Feinberg The Obama administration relented when other news outlets refused to attend unless Fox was invitedThere was John F Kennedy39s pressuring of The New York Times to reassign hardhitting journalist David Halberstam away from Vietnam and during World War I Woodrow Wilson through the Sedition Act of 1918 supported the outright censorship of press critical of the war effort Roughly 900 people went to jail during the Wilson administration for taking stances against the government All the way back to 1798 there were newspaper publishers sympathetic to Jeffersonian ideas such as Matthew Lyon who were imprisoned under the Sedition Act for criticizing the Adams administrationThe social and political climate of 2019 betrays a receding appreciation for the timeless necessity of free speech and its corollary a free press In a September 2019 survey 57 percent of respondents among American journalists indicated that freedom of the press has been deteriorating Yet according to a 2019 report from the Knight Foundation only 53 percent of college students quotfavor protecting free speech rightsquot A full 60 percent of college women argued that when free speech and a desire for inclusivity come into conflict inclusivity ought to take precedenceThis comes at a time when renowned researcher James Flynn had his forthcoming book on of all topics free speech pulled by publishers for fear his arguments would prove controversial There is also the recent New York City ban on the use of the term quotillegal alienquot with the quotintent to demean humiliate or harass a personquot along with the threat of a 250000 fine for violating this new orderOf all the values in a free society free expression is among the most important and from a brief glance at history among the most fragile Sure no one likes seeing someone berated with hurtful language or watching as hopelessly biased content is uploaded to the Internet but that39s what it is to live in a free society Its alternative is a world where one walks on eggshells afraid to use this word or that word and fearful to express unpopular ideas At best this world is hostile to genuine truthseeking which invariably leaves someone offended or some politician embarrassed At worst this becomes the world under the Sedition Act of 1918 amp8212 or 1798 amp8212 where certain speech begins to bear criminal penaltiesIt39s vital to keep in mind that protections for freedom of expression are only relevant when one is expressing an opinion that is both unpopular and on a substantive issue One does not need free speech to sing the praises of a favorite restaurant or entertainer amp8212 or even to express a political opinion that is widely shared Freedom of speech only comes into play when voicing a position that is not part of a mainstream preferred agenda To paraphrase the bard of Saint Vincent College political science professor Father Armand there was free speech in Soviet Russia and Maoist China one could get up and speak to his heart39s content about how much he supported the governmentIn the early days of the Republic among the most pressing concerns was how best to protect the rights of an ideological minority The Founders worried that the proverbial 51 percent majority amp8212 or those in government amp8212 might infringe upon the rights of those in the minority It was for this reason that the Bill of Rights enshrined free speech as a permanent guarantee That promise wouldn39t always be kept as happened with the Sedition Act of 1918 for exampleToday in an era that has seen a Republican congressional candidate bodyslam a journalist and then be elected a Democratic presidential candidate call for a sitting president to be banned from a social media site and now Colorado39s Governor seeking to censor newspapers something is clearly amiss It39s time we reaffirm our commitment to free expression amp8212 and this is all the more pressing when what is being said is unpopular As Adlai Stevenson said in a 1952 speech in Detroit quotMy definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopularquotClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

The Timeless Necessity of a Truly Free Press

Author

Publish date

Channel

Erich J. Prince

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

More Videos:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

The Timeless Necessity of a Truly Free Press

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Erich J. Prince

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

Cookies