Alan Greenblatt Free Speech At Risk Analysis

The job of a journalist is to get as close to the truth of news worthy stories as they possibly can. Journalists provide citizens with valuable information that is needed to make the best decisions about their lives, communities, and their governments. Journalists use a variety of media to distribute their information. Newspapers, television, radio and digital media are most commonly used to present the news to the public. Having access to new various ways of communication in the 20th century can be a positive aspect for journalists as this makes sharing news as easy as ever. However, the downfall of widespread communication is questioning if this news is truly accurate. People have concerns with the accuracy and objectivity of the news.

This prohibits the government from interfering. Statutory regulation is when the government is allowed to control the organization. If government officials have control of journalists they are able to regulate exactly what information is distributed to the public. They can easily pick and choose or alter the information they want you to see for their own political or personal interest. Alan Greenblatt, states in his article “Free Speech at Risk” that, “It should continue to fall upon the press to ensure that the standards it embraces are of the highest order of professionalism and integrity. What is required is not state control of statutory regulation. But the press must be held accountable for egregious abuses of its own privileged position within a democracy.” Most journalists strive to exercise their freedom to publish the news in a responsible and ethical manner. Although journalists are free to publish any information they desire this does not mean they cannot be exempt from liability for what they publish. If a journalist publishes false information about a person they can be sued for libel. They can also be sued if the story unlawfully invades the person’s privacy. State laws already provide a reasonable amount of