Freedom of the Press Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

Introduction

In any society, the media is relied upon to provide information on the events that happen both locally and internationally. The media is trusted to provide unbiased information, but this is not always the case. In the essay, we will try and find out if the media is an enemy of law enforcement.

The first amendment to the US constitution states that:

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 for a redress of grievances (Norton, 1996).

The press clause in this amendment has seen the media exercise too much freedom in their dissemination of information. The media is characterized by the reporting of news that interest the public so as to boost their ratings.

They therefore, use any means that they think are entertaining and appealing to their audience. In the area of crime, the media puts crime news in contexts that can be understood by the masses. The media ensures that there is policy accountability in their course of duty. The media ensures this by exposing inefficiency and corruption cases (Norton, 1996).

However, the media has not been all that partial in the dissemination of information and this has, on many occasions, been a problem to law enforcers. Because the media knows that their rights are protected by the constitution, they have gone to the extent of dwelling more on major misconduct from law enforcers.

The media ignores or does not cover everyday activities of the police because such events are not pleasing to the audience and will therefore, not raise their ratings. Police work is often distorted by the media which tends to only concentrate on crime and ignores other police activities not related to crime. They therefore, only highlight the negative side of law enforcement (Freedom, 2008).

This problem is also experienced in court cases whereby the media is often accused of press releases of information that should not be released before court cases are discharged. This has, on some occasions affected court decisions because jurors will have already formed prejudices about the case.

Too much publicity also risks having an impartial jury, the constitutions protects the media, meaning that courts have to employ other measures such as changing the venue. When writing the constitution, the writers knew that it was necessary to protect citizens from the government. They knew that it was important to let people air out their sentiments, but one should take caution about what he gives to the public (Freedom, 2008).

All has not been that bad with the media. For instance, the media helped in the capture of the Oklahoma City bomber when they aired it on the radio and ran sketches of the suspects on television. The Washington post also helped in the capture of the Unabomber when it published his manifesto.

On reading the manifesto, the brother quickly recognized it and alerted the police who apprehended him. However, in the “Alfred P. Murrah Federal office building” bombing case, the two accused men filed a request to dismiss the prosecution because they said that the trial had been prejudiced by the publicity made by the media. Their plea was accepted, but court proceedings were transferred to another court (Summary, n.d).

Conclusion

These cases show that media plays a very important role in the world and whether it is negative or positive, the forefathers were not mistaken, and the media should be free to provide checks and balances where necessary.

References

Freedom. (2008). Freedom of the Press. America Government. Web.

Norton, J. (1996). United States Constitution Amendments Article I of the Bill of Rights. Bare Foot Sword. Web.

Summary. (n.d). Summary and Conclusion. Web.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2019, February 20). Freedom of the Press. https://ivypanda.com/essays/freedom-of-the-press/

Work Cited

"Freedom of the Press." IvyPanda, 20 Feb. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/freedom-of-the-press/.

References

IvyPanda. (2019) 'Freedom of the Press'. 20 February.

References

IvyPanda. 2019. "Freedom of the Press." February 20, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/freedom-of-the-press/.

1. IvyPanda. "Freedom of the Press." February 20, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/freedom-of-the-press/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Freedom of the Press." February 20, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/freedom-of-the-press/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1