The press includes printed publications, broadcast news, and online news. Freedom of the press originated in England in the 16th century and was established in the US with the First Amendment. The European Charter on Press Freedom aims to protect the press from censorship, restrictions, threats, surveillance, and attacks. Journalists in the US are not always granted unrestricted access to combat areas and some states have passed shield laws to protect sources. The Supreme Court has not recognized the press’s unlimited right to privacy.
Press refers to the agencies and individuals involved in gathering and disseminating news. This includes printed publications, such as newspapers and periodicals; broadcast news, such as radio and television news; and news disseminated on the Internet through websites. Freedom of the press is a concept that has to do with the relationship of the press to government.
The question of freedom of the press first arose in England in the 16th century, and only because the press was required to submit materials for licensing before publication. As requirements became more stringent in the 17th century, among the protesters was the poet John Milton, who suggested that suppressing publications deemed problematic was better than censoring them before publication. However, licensing and censorship laws remained on the books until the 16th, and even when they were abolished, libel laws could be used to punish anyone who printed material criticizing the government, and the truth was not an acceptable defense until the mid 19th century.
On 25 May 2009, journalists from 19 European countries adopted the ‘European Charter on Press Freedom’ at a ceremony in Hamburg and 48 journalists and editors-in-chief signed it. The ten articles aim to recognize the role of press freedom in a democratic society and to protect the press from censorship, restrictions, threats, surveillance and attacks. The document continues to be available online for journalists to sign if they wish.
In the United States, freedom of the press is established beginning with John Peter Zenger’s defense against libel charges in 1735. Freedom of the press was specifically provided by several states after the American Revolution and secured by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution , passed in 1791, where it is grouped together with free speech. The attitude to seditious libel implied by the First Amendment has been debated, but with the passage of the Sedition Act in 1798, the First Amendment came to be understood as not intending to protect seditious libel, but recognizing it as a crime.
In the early 21st century United States, freedom of the press protected by the First Amendment distinguishes between publishing and newsgathering: Journalists are not always granted unrestricted access to combat areas. Some states have passed shield laws that allow journalists to refuse to disclose information and sources to law enforcement, but the Supreme Court has failed to recognize that the press has an unlimited right to privacy.
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