Free Free Speech And Fairness: Summary Essay Example

Free speech is deep rooted in U.S. history, culture and, not least, legislation. The U.S. Constitution, particularly First Amendment, establishes a firm case for freedom of speech. John Peter Zenger Case sets a legal precedent for freedom of expression, particularly against executive power. The freedom of speech established rights are, however, challenged, at least partially, during periods of major national crises (notably, wars) and, accordingly, "questionable" laws (e.g. Alien and Sedition Acts and USA Patriot Act) are passed (supposedly hurriedly) in order to impose order.
U.S. media law is extensive and covers numerous areas including, for example, libel, privacy, press freedom of speech, prior restraint, freedom of speech in classrooms, shield laws, obscenity, copy right and fair use, and Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Libel is a defamation of a person's reputation and is, in fact, a highly controversial area of media law since libelous acts are often hard to identify. The New York Times v. Sullivan case represents a case in point of how hard to identify libelous acts, particularly in major publications. The case closed in favor of The New York Times based on grounds on inevitability of errors.
The privacy issue is, if anything, one most cherished right in U.S. culture and law. By invading one's privacy, one "trespasses" into another's property. The case for privacy in U.S. is, indeed, complicated and covers broad areas of lesser legal implications including, for example, embarrassment, false light and misappropriation. Further, U.S. privacy law is distinct from comparable laws in developed jurisdictions, particularly Europe.
The case for a free coverage of specific events by media has seen ebbs and flows over decades as media and law enforcement agencies continue to contend for different rights of freedom of speech and security and secrecy guarantees of investigations respectively, particularly in federal crimes or issues drawing national attention. One notable progress of free coverage is introducing less intrusive cameras into courtrooms. Interestingly, reporters are offered protection by what is referred to as shield laws. These laws, applicable only in state level but not federally, guarantee reporters can opt not to testify in courts about reported stories or sources.
The prior restraint legislations protect against potential leakage of national security secrets, particularly during periods of war or obscenity. Similar to press freedom of speech, prior restraint is contentious and is often overruled and re-overruled based on overall political and social climate. The Pentagon Papers story by The New York Times on government's Vietnam policy and Progressive magazine's story on censorship of nuclear weapons represent notable examples.
The protection of free speech in classroom, as in Morse v. Fredrick, is, if anything, a comparatively controversial area since "pedagogical concerns" can be interpreted very broadly.
The case for obscenity is a long-standing one but has become more complicated in recent years given multiplicity of community standards online and over satellite channels.
Not least, copyright and fair use offers protections against potential intellectual property violations and, in more recent years, has developed into a middle ground of full copyright protections and open domain rights in forms including, for example, Creative Commons.
Finally, Telecommunications Act of 1996 represents an attempt to control broadcast communications, conventional or offline, by imposing special restrictions (e.g. v-chips for TVs) in using broadcasting media platforms.