The Fourth Estate and the Constitution: Freedom of the Press in America

Couverture
University of California Press, 2 oct. 1992 - 372 pages
In 1964 the Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision in New York Times v. Sullivan guaranteeing constitutional protection for caustic criticism of public officials, thus forging the modern law of freedom of the press. Since then, the Court has decided case after case affecting the rights and restrictions of the press, yet little has ben written about these developments as they pertain to the Fourth Estate. Lucas Powe's essential book now fills this gap. Lucas A. Powe, Jr., a legal scholar specializing in media and the law, goes back to the framing of the First Amendment and chronicles the two main traditions of interpreting freedom of the press to illuminate the issues that today ignite controversy: 
  • How can a balance be achieved among reputation, uninhibited discussion, and media power?
  • Under what circumstance can the government seek to protect national security by enjoining the press rather than attempting the difficult task of convincing a jury that publication was a criminal offense?
  • What rights can the press properly claim to protect confidential sources or to demand access to information otherwise barred to the public?
  • And, as the media grow larger and larger, can the government attempt to limit their power by limiting their size?
Writing for the concerned layperson and student of both journalism and jurisprudence, Powe synthesizes law, history, and theory to explain and justify full protection of the editorial choices of the press. The Fourth Estate and the Constitution not only captures the sweep of history of Supreme Court decisions on the press, but also provides a timely restatement of the traditional view of freedom of the press at a time when liberty is increasingly called into question.
 

Pages sélectionnées

Table des matières

The Framers and the First
22
Freedom of the Press in Times of Crisis
51
Freedom of the Press from Times to Times
79
Issues
107
Overview
109
Libel
110
Prior Restraints
140
Access to Sources and Information
170
Models
231
Overview
233
The Right to Know
235
The Fourth Estate
260
Conclusion
289
Notes
299
Index
345
Droits d'auteur

Antitrust
200

Autres éditions - Tout afficher

Expressions et termes fréquents

Fréquemment cités

Page 4 - The liberty of the press is indeed essential to the nature of a free state ; but this consists in laying no previous restraints upon publications, and not in freedom from censure for criminal matter, when published. Every freeman has an undoubted right to lay what sentiments he pleases before the public ; to forbid this is to destroy the freedom of the press ; but if he publishes what is improper, mischievous, or illegal, he must take the consequence of his own temerity.

À propos de l'auteur (1992)

Lucas A. Powe, Jr. is Anne Green Regents Chair in the School of Law and Professor of Government at the University of Texas. He is the author of five previous books, including The Warren Court and American Politics.

Informations bibliographiques