For the Negative

The founders believed in the Lockean ideal of negative government, which holds that government governs best by staying out of people&s;s lives, thus giving individuals as much freedom as possible to determine their own pursuits. S. Holmes was acknowledging that the great changes in the economy, society, and communication required a concept of press freedom that recognized the rights of leaders and audiences in addition to the rights of media owners and media professionals. Military authorities severely limited journalists&s; travel and required reporters to have a military escort; allowed journalists to interview only selected soldiers and usually had a superior officer standing nearby as the interviews took place; and subjected all news reports to review by military censors. The United States is the only democracy in which nearly all media are commercially owned. Journalists use their strength of feeling about press freedom as a substitute for reflective judgment.

Literature, Film, and Journalism Analysis · Media Influence and Politics · Media Studies and Communication · Psychology