![]() Constitution, Congress had the authority to regulate. Furthermore, broadcasting was seen as a form of interstate commerce, which, under Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Therefore, the government thought that, in the public interest, it was necessary to regulate broadcasting. The rationale for this difference in treatment for broadcasting was that the airwaves were a scarce, public resource, and that messages traveling on these public airwaves could potentially reach, and indeed affect, a great many more people than print messages. This is because the electronic media, and broadcasting in particular, were treated differently by the U.S. Would cause this "freedom" to take on different meanings for each new medium.Ī nonchalant glance at modern media regulation quickly reveals a disparity between regulation of print media and regulation of electronic media-mainly that there is much less regulation of print media than there is of electronic media. However, history shows that several competing philosophies and many court decisions It is unlikely that the writers of this simple sentiment, that "Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press," could foresee the intricate web of arguments that would surround the amendment's interpretation. This first amendment (part of the Bill of Rights) simply stated:Ĭongress 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. After the American Revolution was fought and won, the new Constitution of the United States was created, and in 1791, the First Amendment was accepted. The acquittal of Zenger was the first stepping stone in a series that would finally lead to the birth of the First Amendment. In the end, the jury decided to release Zenger on the basis that his message, though critical of an official, was nonetheless true. However, Hamilton argued that these criticisms were true, in which case the truth should acquit Zenger from any wrongdoing. Before the jury, Zenger, represented by Alexander Hamilton, admitted his "guilt" in publishing criticisms of the governor. Crosby reacted to the article by accusing Zenger of seditious libel, thus taking Zenger to court. John Peter Zenger, publisher of the New York Weekly Journal, printed a negative piece about Governor William Crosby. However, one man would prompt the colonies to rethink this accepted restraint. Consequences for this were so severe that many publishers refrained out of fear from printing anything controversial about an official. Seditious libel was the printed criticism of any people in authority, be they government officials or leaders of the English Church. The third mechanism of prior restraint was the punishment of seditious libel. ![]() Unlike the licensing philosophy, American colonists strongly objected to the taxation, the objection of which manifested itself in several acts of revolt. This meant that not only did the government know who was printing, via tax records, but the government also had monetary control over who could afford to print. With this act, effective until 1855, publishers had to pay taxes on all newspapers, pamphlets, advertisements, and the paper itself. The second mechanism of prior restraint was the 1712 Stamp Act, which England imposed on the colonies. However, some colonies still exercised the philosophy that printing was under state jurisdiction. Across the ocean, the American colonies did not require official licensing of newspapers and the like. ![]() Those persons who published any material without a license were subject to severe penalties. The English licensing, introduced in 1530, required that all persons wishing to run a press meet certain criteria, mainly to refrain from criticizing the church or state. This practice, though not shared by all colonies, was a younger brother of England's mandatory licensing of all printing presses. The first mechanism of prior restraint in the American colonies was government censorship. The three mechanisms that they used, government censorship, taxation, and seditious libel, comprised America's first encounter with prior restraint. England, angered that these certain messages openly criticized their government of the New World, sought to inhibit free speech. The mechanical printing press, invented in the fifteenth century, had come across the ocean and was being employed by the American colonies for the dissemination of many messages, some of which were political. The courtship between the First Amendment and the mass media can trace its roots back to Colonial America.
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