Examines the extent newspaper editorials in the twentieth century have supported the first amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press. Finds that support of the first amendment was not always forthcoming in times of domestic crisis. (RS)

This paper examines the origins of the principle of free expression as worked out by Galileo. It is intended to supplement standard histories of the development of free expression and to recover its history as part of the political project of postmodernism. The paper resurrects Galileo's encounters with entrenched beliefs in order to position free…

Brenham, Texas, in 1866, was a newspaperman's town. In addition to "The Weekly Southern Banner," Brenham citizens read the "Lone Star," the "Christian Advocate," and the "Brenham Enquirer." The events of 1866 bring into sharp focus the struggle between the Fourth Estate and the federal government. This…

This journalism monograph deals with Josiah W. Gitt and his newspaper, "The Gazette and Daily," which existed from 1915 to 1970 and was referred to as "the voice in the wilderness" because of its stand on controversial issues. The monograph discusses the "Gazette and Daily," its views, Gitt's employees, the…

Surveys the status of freedom of the press in eighteenth and nineteenth century Europe, noting that although preliminary censorship was abolished in most of Europe by 1850, governments devised other means to influence what appeared in print. (GT)

Traces the organization of the American Forensic Association beginning in the fall of 1948 when the need for a national organization was agreed upon and questions were addressed concerning nature and scope. Discusses early debates about debate, the North Central Report recommending the abolition of all interscholastic contests except athletics,…

In 1964 the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision, in the case of the New York Times v. Sullivan, that was hailed as a tremendous victory for the news media. This decision changed the law of libel by introducing a fourth requirement of "actual malice" in addition to three previously accepted requirements--publication,…

This paper considers how the Supreme Court used an idealized history of the infamous Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 to help justify its decision in "New York Times v. Sullivan" in 1963. The first section of the paper discusses the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, the second section discusses the Court's use of history in the "New…

This review of the history of the coverage principle developed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) concludes that government regulation of mass media program content can be dangerous and that the coverage principle needs to be abolished. The first section of the report discusses the FCC's interpretation of the 1934 Communications Act…

Compares and contrasts the principles of press freedom and academic freedom in both origin and practice to explore the potential of the model of academic freedom for enhancing the autonomy of journalists. (SR)

While the typical pantheon of journalism history heroes is made up almost entirely of individuals who campaigned for more governmental regulation and increased social liberalism, there is also an opposing tradition in American journalism, one based on the premise that governmental cures are in most cases worse than the diseases they are designed…

Questions concerning the relative protection afforded by the speech and press clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the law of libel, and protection for the editorial process are the focus of this paper. The first section summarizes arguments for First Amendment press protection, focusing on the question of whether…

Reviews court cases dealing with students' rights to freedom of expression, noting that federal court protection of student expression began at the circuit court level in 1966 with decisions in two companion cases. (GT)

The following 11 papers, on a variety of topics, were given at the 1990 meeting of the American Journalism Historians' Association: (1) "They Hang Editors Don't They?: Free Speech and Free Press Issues in the Haymarket Case, 1886" (Nathaniel Hong); (2) "G. K. Chesterton and the British Press, 1911-1933" (Dean Rapp); (3)…

In 19th century Europe, the dominant classes detested the idea of a free press, seeing it as a middle and lower class weapon. Although repression of the press in Europe existed long before the 19th century, at this time techniques of press repression fell into two major categories: (1) direct--licensing, prior censorship, and post-publication…