question 3: Where did press freedom in the US come from?

Question 1

Sources of press freedom (Sanford and Kirtley)

Answer 1

• Constitution: 1st and 14th Amendment
• State Constitutions
• Legal statutes and court interpretations

Question 2

Prior Restraint Cases

Answer 2

• Near v. Minnesota (1931): court held that prior restraint was unconstitutional except in extremely limited circumstances such as national security
• New York Times v. U.S. (1971): allowed for the New York Times to publish classified Pentagon Paper without risk of government censorship or punishment

Question 3

Libel Case

Answer 3

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964): established malice standards, requires that the publisher knew that the statement was in fact false or acted in disregard

Question 4

SUMMARY

Answer 4

• Press freedom is strong but not absolute

- Application of the First Amendment is constantly evolving and typically involves tradeoffs