About Our Freedom of the Press
By James Donahue
The First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution is probably among the most important legal documents our forefathers gave us. It protects our freedoms to worship, speak out in public, peaceably assemble and for journalists, it protects our freedoms to gather information and publish it for public inspection.
This Amendment was considered so important it specifically prevents Congress from making any law that overturns this freedom. It was the first Constitutional Amendment adopted by the states and one of the ten amendments that appear in the Bill of Rights. Yet since he has been in office, President Trump has publicly attacked the press and the Moslem religion. He appears to have forgotten his oath of office which demands that the president “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
In a published editorial appearing in Politico Magazine, Political Science Professor Corey Brettschneider noted that even before being elected to office, Mr. Trump announced that “We’re going to open up those libel laws. So when the New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total disgrace . . . we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they’re totally protected.”
Since taking office, Mr. Trump has viciously attacked the media for publishing stories and editorial content critical of his policies and his presidential decisions. In fact, Trump and his G.O.P. pals in Washington, and even his public relations personnel have fallen upon the phrase “False News” when such stories appear in print or on television screens. They have used this method of attack so much that there has been a growing distrust by the public of stories they read or hear about on the news. He is even daring to propose the creation of a government owned and operated news network to “overcome” CNN and other media reports.
Brettschneider wrote that Trump’s political philosophy “is the demagoguery that the Founders designed the Constitution to protect us against.” To date the Supreme Court has held that for a public figure to prove libel against a news outlet, “they must show that the outlet acted with actual malice . . . that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.”
“In a constitutional democracy, it is essential that the press has broad freedom to investigate public officials so that voters have the information needed to hold them accountable” Brettschneider wrote.
Perhaps because of Mr. Trump’s public attacks, members of the press have obviously felt themselves steeped in controversy whenever they are compelled to write news stories and editorials that anger public officials. And as a retired journalist with over 50 years of experience covering government, I understand their dilemma.
Indeed, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I recently read how the police in San Francisco raided the home and office of freelance journalist Bryan Carmody because Carmody refused to reveal the source of a published news story. The police used a sledgehammer to force open the gate at the home and then seized computers, phones and other devices valued at up to $40,000, Carmody said. Making the assault even worse, the police claimed that they entered the property armed with a court order. This implies that a local judge also acted in total disregard to Carmody’s First Amendment right.
Some years ago while working as a bureau reporter for a Gannet Newspaper in Michigan, I also experienced a battle between my office and a District Judge over the source of a news story I wrote that angered the judge. After the judge barged his way into my office and demanded that I reveal my source, my editors backed me to the hilt. They turned the issue over to the company’s legal team. The issue was silently taken care of.
The story and others that followed were serious enough that he was defeated when he sought re-election to office the following year.
By James Donahue
The First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution is probably among the most important legal documents our forefathers gave us. It protects our freedoms to worship, speak out in public, peaceably assemble and for journalists, it protects our freedoms to gather information and publish it for public inspection.
This Amendment was considered so important it specifically prevents Congress from making any law that overturns this freedom. It was the first Constitutional Amendment adopted by the states and one of the ten amendments that appear in the Bill of Rights. Yet since he has been in office, President Trump has publicly attacked the press and the Moslem religion. He appears to have forgotten his oath of office which demands that the president “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
In a published editorial appearing in Politico Magazine, Political Science Professor Corey Brettschneider noted that even before being elected to office, Mr. Trump announced that “We’re going to open up those libel laws. So when the New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total disgrace . . . we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they’re totally protected.”
Since taking office, Mr. Trump has viciously attacked the media for publishing stories and editorial content critical of his policies and his presidential decisions. In fact, Trump and his G.O.P. pals in Washington, and even his public relations personnel have fallen upon the phrase “False News” when such stories appear in print or on television screens. They have used this method of attack so much that there has been a growing distrust by the public of stories they read or hear about on the news. He is even daring to propose the creation of a government owned and operated news network to “overcome” CNN and other media reports.
Brettschneider wrote that Trump’s political philosophy “is the demagoguery that the Founders designed the Constitution to protect us against.” To date the Supreme Court has held that for a public figure to prove libel against a news outlet, “they must show that the outlet acted with actual malice . . . that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.”
“In a constitutional democracy, it is essential that the press has broad freedom to investigate public officials so that voters have the information needed to hold them accountable” Brettschneider wrote.
Perhaps because of Mr. Trump’s public attacks, members of the press have obviously felt themselves steeped in controversy whenever they are compelled to write news stories and editorials that anger public officials. And as a retired journalist with over 50 years of experience covering government, I understand their dilemma.
Indeed, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I recently read how the police in San Francisco raided the home and office of freelance journalist Bryan Carmody because Carmody refused to reveal the source of a published news story. The police used a sledgehammer to force open the gate at the home and then seized computers, phones and other devices valued at up to $40,000, Carmody said. Making the assault even worse, the police claimed that they entered the property armed with a court order. This implies that a local judge also acted in total disregard to Carmody’s First Amendment right.
Some years ago while working as a bureau reporter for a Gannet Newspaper in Michigan, I also experienced a battle between my office and a District Judge over the source of a news story I wrote that angered the judge. After the judge barged his way into my office and demanded that I reveal my source, my editors backed me to the hilt. They turned the issue over to the company’s legal team. The issue was silently taken care of.
The story and others that followed were serious enough that he was defeated when he sought re-election to office the following year.