As we head into what is going to be a truly historic election, we must remember the importance of the freedoms granted by the First Amendment and the value of the free press. For many years – but especially in the last four years – journalists in the United States have been literally under attack for doing their jobs.
In order to ensure that student voices are heard, schools should not limit the freedoms of speech that are given to citizens outside of the schoolyard. An education is a human right, and therefore the ability to advocate for it should not be hindered by an organization that wants to make decisions for its own benefit, not the benefit of the students.
On September 23, free-press advocates from the National Press Club Journalism Institute and Reporters Without Borders, along with more than 100 volunteers (including myself), canvassed Capitol Hill to ask legislators to support efforts to free American journalist Austin Tice, who has been held captive in Syria since 2012.
As we celebrate National Newspaper Week, we are raising awareness about our five First Amendment freedoms, as outlined in the U.S. Constitution — freedom of the press, speech, religion, petition and assembly — and the ways the news media help promote and protect those freedoms. Those five freedoms seem so basic, and we sometimes may take them for granted, but there are surprisingly few channels that allow us to exercise all five freely.
With the release of our newest ad last week, we — along with our Support Real News partners — are responding to recent attacks on the media, highlighting the importance of press access for the preservation of our democracy. In the ad, we called on the public to support press access, noting that the ability of reporters to accurately inform the public depends on their ability to ask questions of those in power.
Journalists report the facts, giving their readers and viewers the details they need to make informed decisions about their lives and the world around them. While they are usually background players, in recent weeks they have taken center stage, not as the storytellers, but as the story. During last night’s Super Bowl LIII, The Washington Post highlighted this point in an ad about the value of journalists to our democracy.
The News Media Alliance stands in full support of CNN’s defense of its First Amendment rights. We need quality journalism – now more than ever – from respected news organizations employing professional journalists who will hold those in positions of power accountable.
As part of Free Speech Week, we’re looking back at some of the biggest moments in the history of our First Amendment right to a free press and the impacts those moments had on the press as we know it today.
At a time when the First Amendment is being tested and questioned – perhaps more than ever before – it is important that we reflect on where we are and where we are going in the face of the vast technological changes that are impacting our press and our democratic systems, especially the rise of the big tech platforms and their role in making editorial decisions previously delegated to newspaper publishers.
Journalists are out there every day on the front lines to uncover the facts and understandings that will allow us to find our way back to a more productive democracy where decisions can be made based on mutually agreed-upon facts.
