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Article: Freedom of the Press
- Article from:
- West's Encyclopedia of American Law
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Gale Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
The right, guaranteed by the
first amendment
to the U.S. Constitution, to gather, publish, and distribute information and ideas without government
restriction; this right encompasses freedom from
prior restraints
on publication and freedom from
censorship.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, in part, "Congress shall make no law
…
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." The courts have long struggled to determine whether the Framers of the Constitution intended to differentiate press freedom from speech freedom. Most have concluded that freedom of the press derives from freedom of speech. Although some cases and some legal scholars, ...