an educated view of freedom of the press
"Liberty of the press consists in the right to publish, with impunity, truth, and with good motives and for justifiable ends, whether it respects government, magistry, or individuals."---James Kent, New York Supreme Court Justice, 1804
James Kent (1763-1847) was one of the most influential and respected jurists and legal scholars of his time. He graduated from Yale in 1781, after helping to establish the Phi Beta Kappa society there in 1780. After graduation Kent became a practicing attorney in Poughkeepsie, NY. In 1793 Kent became the first professor of law at Columbia University. From 1793 to 1822, Kent also served as a New York State Assemblyman, State recorder, judge of the New York State Supreme Court, Chief Justice of the same court, chancellor of New York, and a member of the State convention to revise New York's constitution. Kent will be long remembered for his Commentaries on American Law, published in four volumes from 1826-1830. Truly, James Kent was one of the great legal minds of the 18th and 19th Centuries.
Take a close look at how James Kent defines freedom of the press. Does he say that freedom of the press means that the press can print/broadcast anything they want for whatever reason they want? Does he say that there are no limits whatsoever on the freedom of the press? Does he say that it's OK for a major newspaper to reveal classified national defense programs to the world, after the government asked them not to? Does he say that it's OK for the press to engage in a relentless and never-ending campaign to undermine a war they don't agree with and a president that they hate? No, no, and no, to all of the above. Kent invokes limiting concepts that are completely foreign to today's mainstream media; concepts such as "truth" and "good motives" and "justifiable ends." Please keep James Kent's quote locked in your mind and think about it often as you examine what the mainstream media has to offer us in the days, weeks, months and years to come.
James Kent (1763-1847) was one of the most influential and respected jurists and legal scholars of his time. He graduated from Yale in 1781, after helping to establish the Phi Beta Kappa society there in 1780. After graduation Kent became a practicing attorney in Poughkeepsie, NY. In 1793 Kent became the first professor of law at Columbia University. From 1793 to 1822, Kent also served as a New York State Assemblyman, State recorder, judge of the New York State Supreme Court, Chief Justice of the same court, chancellor of New York, and a member of the State convention to revise New York's constitution. Kent will be long remembered for his Commentaries on American Law, published in four volumes from 1826-1830. Truly, James Kent was one of the great legal minds of the 18th and 19th Centuries.
Take a close look at how James Kent defines freedom of the press. Does he say that freedom of the press means that the press can print/broadcast anything they want for whatever reason they want? Does he say that there are no limits whatsoever on the freedom of the press? Does he say that it's OK for a major newspaper to reveal classified national defense programs to the world, after the government asked them not to? Does he say that it's OK for the press to engage in a relentless and never-ending campaign to undermine a war they don't agree with and a president that they hate? No, no, and no, to all of the above. Kent invokes limiting concepts that are completely foreign to today's mainstream media; concepts such as "truth" and "good motives" and "justifiable ends." Please keep James Kent's quote locked in your mind and think about it often as you examine what the mainstream media has to offer us in the days, weeks, months and years to come.
posted by hondo at 9:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home