The printing of thoughts and ideas began thousands of years ago with the carving of designs into wet clay. Though paper was invented in China in the twelfth century, modern printing did not begin until about 500 years ago. In response to the Renaissance interest in learning, German Johannes Guttenberg pioneered the use of movable type and began the printing of books. However, even before there was…
Throughout history the most severe restrictions placed on the press has occurred during times of social stress, particularly during wars. The first restrictions by Congress on the press was through the Sedition Act of 1798, based on English common law, which prohibited malicious criticism of the government or government officials. Several editors were tried and convicted before the highly controve…
Another area addressed by the Court involved press claims that to effectively perform their duties for the public, government must provide special access to proceedings and institutions. However, the Court did not recognize such a general constitutional right of access except in criminal trials. The Court also did not recognize a journalist's privilege to withhold information in protecting news so…
Though First Amendment press protections were eventually extended to broadcasting and cable television media, the courts recognized a government regulatory role because of the limited number of broadcast frequencies available. In 1943 the power of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to determine who receives broadcast licenses was upheld. However, the FCC was required to apply neutral crit…
Commercialization of the press began in the early twentieth century, eventually leading to corporate ownership of the media. Increasingly the line blurred between political and commercial activities and between public and commercial. Beginning in the 1970s, the courts increasingly extended First Amendment protections to corporate and commercial activities, regardless of their relationship to polit…
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