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first amendment and its impact on the media
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Reporter’s Privilege Journalism has grown and developed over the years along with journalistic ethics. Journalists have a code of ethics or a moral compass. Every story that a reporter produces has either a named or unnamed source. Several states have protective laws designed for reporters who have stories with anonymous sources, but Mississippi is one of the only states in America that does not have a shield law in place. Mississippi should enact a shield law giving reporters the privilege not to disclose anonymous sources. Confidential sources in some cases are the only base of credibility for reporters. Many prominent news stories would not surface without the dependence on confidentiality between reporters and their sources: “The Watergate source . . . gave confidential information to Washington Post reporters about illegal activities by the Nixon White House” (Campbell 37). Without protection for reporters and their sources, the public would be in the dark. Journalists have a role of delivering key information that our government does not want to disclose to the public. They are protected by the First Amendment, but the First Amendment does not protect journalists against source disclosure. 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; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government of a redress of grievances” (qtd. in VanArsdall 16). Because the first amendment does not spell out in detail how the amendment protects journalists, the interpretation of the amendment by lawmakers is often times not enough to clear a journalist from having to disclose a ... ... middle of paper ... ...d "Applause for a Reporter's Courage." National Catholic Reporter 15 July 2005: 24. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. Bates, Stephen. “The Reporter’s Privilege, Then and Now.” Society Aug. 2001: 41-54. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 March. 2014. Benzing, Jeffrey. “Falling On Their Shield.” American Journalism Review July 2011: 11-12 Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. Campbell, Joel. “States Revisiting Reporter’s Privilege Laws.” Quill Dec. 2005; 36-37. Literary Reference Center. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. Kaufman, Debra. “The Fight For A Shield Law.” Television Week Oct. 2008: 20. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. Klein, Herbert G. “Why a Shield Law Is Needed.” Washington Times Sept. 2005: A17 Newspaper Source. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. VanArsdall, Kelsey. “A Law to Protect.” Quill Feb. 2005: 15 MasterFile Complete. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Constitutional Commentary, Vol. 27, Issue 2 (Fall 2011), pp. 347-360 Volokh, Eugene 27 Const. Comment. 347 (2010-2011)
Shepard, Alicia. “Deep Throat’s Legacy to Journalism”. NPR Books. 19 December 2008. Web. 14 November 2013.
Attempt by Congress to strike a balance between society's need for protection from crime and accused right to adequate proce...
Walcott, D. M., Cerundolo, P., & Beck, J. C. (2001). Current analysis of the Tarasoff duty: An evolution towards the limitation of the duty to protect. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 19, 325-343.
Stevenson, Kerry, “The Technology, Business, and Ethics of News,” International Broadcast Engineer (IBE), Oct 1999: 44.
History has revealed that as our nation develops and technology progresses, clarifications and changes must be made to ensure the continued safety and protection of society while justice is able to continually prevail. The exclusionary rule and its companion,
Klein, Julia M. “Sinclair Redux.” Columbia Journalism Review 45 no 2, 58-60. Aug 2006. Web.
At a time when muckrakers are running rampant in the major cities of America, stirring up trouble and pushing false claims, true journalism becomes increasingly hard to procure. Nellie Bly, however, is dedicated to reporting facts and uses writing to raise awareness for the welfare of those who are oppressed by society’s ignorance and indifference. She is an admirable woman because of several traits, including her intense passion and strong determination, and she proves her will-power in her renowned statement, “Energy rightly applied and directed will accomplish anything.” Not only does Bly accomplish and succeed in most everything she puts her mind to, she does it all under the pseudonym of Nellie Bly, keeping her real identity a secret
Christine Catalfamo, Stand Your Ground: Florida’s Castle Doctrine for the Twenty-First Century, 4 Rutgers Journal of Law & Public Policy 504
Publishing false or private information is not constitutionally protected by the first amendment. There are limits to publishing information on a popular news article or paper, “First, journalists are not allowed to knowingly print false information about someone—that’s called libel.” (Anastasia) . This shows that journalists cannot publish false information. If a journalist publishes false or private information he or she risks getting a lawsuit. Journalists can publish in any point of view they would like; whether it is biased or not. In an interview Lata Nott of the First Amendment Center at the Newseum Institute states,“The profession also has a history of self-policing to maintain fair and accurate reporting standards—such as
Though connected through the general base of being a part of the media, investigative journalism is far from the daily reporting and paparazzi reports we are used to. Investigative journalists look to bring attention to violated laws, regulations or wrongdoings that they feel very strongly about. The topic of their research is completely up to their own personal interest and choosing. Their research often takes a long time to collect, and must be very thorough and involve many different sources while providing the public with important information that may have been slightly covered up or less attainable to the news reel of the average Joe. This type of research often looks at what is not working in society and predicts trends and changes, and the analysis of the collected research is completely of the journalist him or herself, and is crucial to the public’s knowledge of very important events that are often overlooked.
The Freedom of the Press, as granted by the First Amendment, allows the Press great privileges, only a few of which have been discussed in this paper. Regardless of the open scope of the topic, it is irrefutable that the Press enjoys a vast amount of power and freedom in what it can and cannot do, and what it does or doesn’t have a right to. The mere fact that the cases discussed above are 5 in favor of the press and 3 not in favor, whereas 3 of the 5 cases are defamation cases, reflects on the actual state of how free the press really is in the American society, and how important the First Amendment and its purpose is to the American way of life.
Throughout history, individuals such as Benjamin Franklin, Joseph Pulitzer and Robert Novak have all made their prominent mark on the history of journalism. Journalist Nellie Bly, however, pioneered a new type of investigative journalism that would impact future reporters internationally and that emphasized the benefits of using journalistic power to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”
Confidential sources should be used as a last resort but if a journalist feels strongly enough that their source must be protected, then they should be willing to go to jail to do the protecting. Furthermore, if some journalists had not kept their sources identity secret then some of the biggest stories would not have been divulged such as the Pentagon Papers and who was behind Watergate and Enron. However, journalists need to realize shield laws are different in each state and they pose no guarantee the journalist will be protected from divulging their source.
This is a much debated topic. Reporters can be challenged with ethical dilemmas that range from truthfulness, appropriate photographs, and conflicts of interest. According to Ralph Hannson, author of Mass Communication: Living in a Media World, “Journalists and their employers can apply a variety of methods for enforcing and implementing ethical behavior. These include employing an ombudsman, requiring commitment to ethical behavior on the part of all employees, and adhering to a code of ethics” (Hannson, R. 2014, Chapter 14, para 3). Most media outlets will go out of their way to ensure that a code of ethics are set in pace and are being followed; however there are a few outlets that report false information intentionally. These types of satirical media outlets have been known to report everything from biblical prophecies to celebrity death hoaxes. These forms of media generally state somewhere that they are satirical and the information being disclosed is false and intended to be entertainment, but there will always be those out there who will believe anything they read online or in the Global