Reply #74: Freedom of the press is never easy, not even for the Founders [View All]

There's a First Amendment to the US Constitution not because the Founders loved everything in the press of their day but because they realized that citizens would keep their liberty for a price: eternal vigilance. Vigilance not only of their government but of all sources of information.

The press of the late 18th and 19th centuries was a bunch of chatty scandal sheets and opinion journals, with certain publishers regularly lashing into their political enemies. All sorts of rumors and scandals abounded about people like Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, for instance--some outlandish and others more credible. It wasn't until the rise of corporate journalism in the latter part of the 19th century that "objective" journalism was born, largely as a way to appease advertisers so they could supplant readers as the main source of income for the journals and newspapers.

So when you say you want to legislate journalists' morality, be careful what you ask for, because it's exactly what the other side wants to do too. I prefer the First Amendment, trashy journalism occasionally, and a public conscientious enough to take the time to search out the truth from a number of sources. Journalists may have a duty to report fairly and accurately, but the public has a duty to keep journalists accountable and realize that journalism is a means to better government rather than an end in itself.