Censorship of the Press
The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States reads, "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" and yet, over the last two centuries, congress has attempted to do all of the above on many occasions. It seems almost barbaric in this day and age to imagine our government still attempting to abridge the freedoms put forth by the Constitution, but it does indeed still happen. It would take several volumes to detail every occurrence in the history of our Constitution, so for the sake of brevity, this essay will focus on the government attempts to abridge the freedom of the press in the last dozen years.In 1991, the United States entered into a military conflict with Iraq after their leader, Saddam Hussein, invaded Kuwait. During the weeks that followed, I could not turn on my television without seeing some form of media coverage about the war, be it personal stories of soldiers and their family, close up footage of our missiles pummeling their buildings, or late night television hosts
On February 14, 1991 the Pentagon laid down specific guidelines telling the media what they were and were not allowed to disclose. Included among these guidelines were: "Any information that reveals details of future plans, operations, or strikes, including postponed or canceled operations"; "Information on intelligence collection activities, including targets, methods and results"; and ten other rules that were most likely meant to protect the United States and our allies. During this time, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice asked the press not to air a tape of Bin Laden speaking to his followers. She reasoned that Bin Laden might attempt to send secret messages to terrorists in the United States. Ari Fleischer, press secretary, also asked the press not to reveal information about how the US is getting their intelligence information, as well as information about the president's schedule or White House security. cracking jokes about Saddam Hussein. As an average viewer, I did not think for a moment that the press was leaving information out of the extensive broadcasts. However, behind the scenes, there was more going on. Much more than the press was allowed to report on. The Wilson's sued the US Marshals and the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department, claiming that bringing reporters to their home during the execution of the search warrant was a violation of their Constitutional right to privacy. On May 24, 1999, the Supreme Court agreed with the Wilsons. The Court ruled that the First Amendment does not grant reporters the right to go anywhere they wish at any time in pursuit of a story. This decision limits the scope of "ride-alongs" and the media's access to police activities. The media has also been thwarted in their efforts to cover the Guantanamo detainees. In May of 2002, the U.S. military at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba tran
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1270
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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