What is the First Amendment?
According to The Constitution of the United States, the First Amendment states: "Congress shall make now 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."
Print Media
An analysis of the First Amendment jurisprudence reveals that the Supreme Court has given print media an elevated level of protection under the Speech and Press Clauses.
- The Supreme Court has rejected government attempts to control the content of newspapers but has sustained stronger efforts to regulate the content of radio and television
- The Court has afforded print media a privileged place because print medium is central to American culture
Speech
The Court has strongly regulated oral speech under the evaluation of fighting words or words that “by their very utterance...tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace.”
- The Court has allowed the government to regulate speech that might cause people to make snap decisions
- Fighting words cannot help society come closer to arriving at the “truth”
Film
The 1915 case Mutual Film Corp. v. Industrial Commission held that film could not be considered an equivalent of print because film is more powerful and more capable of evil because of their attractiveness and manner of exhibition.
- Films move faster than books and make a stronger impression on the mind in unaccountable ways because film breaks down a viewer’s normal resistance, making them highly impressionable
Radio
The Court has stated that broadcast media is entitled to less First Amendment protection due to its unique characteristics.
- Used to its full potential the radio emanates an unspoken communication between writer, speaker, and listeners
- Americans easily assimilated to radio after being accustomed to print sparked higher restrictions initially
- Radio allowed for faster, more concise coverage with a specific perspective from both the writer and speaker of the content
Works Cited
Howell, Sean. “A ‘Hot’ and ‘Cool’ First Amendment: Analyzing Speech Effects in a Shifting Media Environment.” California Law Review, vol. 104, no. 5, 2016, pp. 1259–1259.
“The Constitution of the United States,” Amendment 1.
“The Constitution of the United States,” Amendment 1.