Page 63 - Historical Dictionary of Political Communication in the United States

OF THE PRESS
FREEDOM
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political ideas—even radical ideas—which ultimately serves the best interest of
the nation's citizens.
SOURCE: Leonard W. Levy, ed., Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, Supple-
ment One, 1992.
Jacqueline Nash Gifford

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS refers to the rights of the media as protected by
the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Freedom of the press is essential
to a democracy. Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence
that governments exist to protect our God-given rights and that governments
derive "their just powers from the consent of the governed." This implies an
informed electorate, but if the government controls the press, the electorate can-
not be fully informed.
Under the First Amendment, the press is permitted to write about govern-
mental abuses and to analyze governmental policies and actions. The public can
make intelligent choices for political candidates and issues based on the infor-
mation provided by the press.
The U.S. Supreme Court has given the press great latitude to do its job with-
out censorship. Over the Court's history, it made rulings limiting government
action in such areas as libel, prior restraint of printing or airing information,
access to government events and files, and discriminatory taxation.

SOURCES: Kermit L. Hall, ed., The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the
United States, 1992; Leonard W. Levy, ed., Encyclopedia of the American Constitution,
Supplement One, 1992.
Jacqueline Nash Gifford

FRIENDLY, FRED (1915-1998) created the standards for today's broadcast
news journalists and helped create the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Born
in New York City, Friendly had a comfortable life as an only child. He attended
the Nicols Junior College in Massachusetts, where he majored in business ad-
ministration and was the yearbook editor.
In 1937, he landed his first radio announcing and news job at WEAN in
Providence, Rhode Island. There he started his famous Footprints in the Sand
series, a collection of on-air biographical sketches and stories of famous histor-
ical figures. The series was so popular it was eventually made into a record.
Friendly is best known for his work with Edward R. Murrow, considered one
of America's best news broadcasters. Together, Friendly and Murrow produced
a series of albums, again based on history, called / Can Hear It Now. Their
recordings won many awards, and in 1951, the concept was changed to a tele-
vision program called See It Now. Those watching See It Now could see doc-
umentaries and news from around the world. The most famous of those
programs was the expose of Senator Joseph McCarthy during the "Red Scare."
That program is generally considered a major factor in the downfall of McCar-