Attacks on the American Press: A Documentary and Reference Guide

Description

This primary source collection will help readers to understand how the press has been vilified (usually by powerful political or corporate interests) over the course of American history, with a special focus on current events and how these efforts to censor or influence news coverage often flout First Amendment protections concerning freedom of the press. Selected documents highlight efforts to intimidate, silence, condemn, marginalize, and otherwise undercut the credibility and influence of American journalism from the colonial era through the Trump presidency. Most of the featured documents focus on efforts borne out of self-interested attempts to shape or conceal news for political or economic gain or personal fame, but coverage also includes instances in which press actions, attitudes, or priorities deserved censure. All told, the collection will be a valuable resource for understanding the importance of a free press to American life (and the constitutional basis for preserving such), the motivations (both selfish and altruistic) of critics of American journalism from the earliest days of the Republic to today, and the impact of all of the above on American society. Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Reader’s Guide to Related Documents and Sidebars Preface Introduction Chapter 1. Threats to the Press during Wartime Document 1. The Sedition Act of 1798 Document 2. President Abraham Lincoln’s Executive Order, 1864 Document 3. President Woodrow Wilson’s Letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman, 1917 Document 4. The Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 Document 5. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Schenck v. United States, 1919 Document 6. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Executive Order 8985, 1941 Document 7. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in New York Times v. United States, 1971 Document 8. Ann Cooper’s Speech on the Press and the War on Terrorism, 2004 Chapter 2. Criticizing the Press as Sensational Document 9. James Fenimore Cooper’s “On the American Press,” 1838 Document 10. Robert Ellis Thompson’s “The Age of Newspapers,” 1883 Document 11. Brandeis and Warren’s “The Right to Privacy,” 1890 Document 12. Excerpts from President Theodore Roosevelt’s Muck-Rake Address, 1906 Document 13. James Edward Rogers’s “The American Newspaper,” 1909 Document 14. President Harry Truman’s Letter to Dean Acheson, 1955 Document 15. Representative Maurice Hinchey’s Statement on Coverage of President Bill Clinton, 1998 Document 16. Senator James Inhofe’s Statement about Climate Change Alarmism, 2006 Chapter 3. Legal Attacks on the Press Document 17. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in New York Times v. Sullivan, 1964 Document 18. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Cohen v. Cowles Media Co., 1991 Document 19. The Memorandum of Decision in the case of Cochran v. New York Post Holdings, Inc. and Peyser, 1998 Document 20. The U.S. Court of Appeals Decision in Food Lion, Inc. v. Capital Cities/ABC, 1999 Document 21. Brief for the United States in Judith Miller v. United States, 2005 Document 22. The Motion for Injunction in the Case of Terry Bollea v. Gawker Media, 2012 Document 23. The Report of the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility on Subpoenas of Associated Press Phone Records, 2014 Document 24. Statement from the Committee to Protect Journalists on the arrest of Julian Assange, 2019 Document 25. Lawsuits Filed by the Donald Trump campaign against News Organizations, 2020 Chapter 4. Physical Attacks on Journalists Document 26. Benjamin Franklin’s Account of the Supremest Court of Judicature, 1789 Document 27. The Last Speech of Abolitionist Publisher Elijah Lovejoy, 1837 Document 28. Story and Editorial from Canton (OH) Daily News on Their Murdered Editor, 1926 Document 29. Excerpts from The Arizona Project about Slain Journalist Don Bolles, 1977 Document 30. Statement from the Los Angeles Police Department on the Murder of a Citizen Journalist, 2002 Document 31. Stories compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists regarding Chauncey Bailey, 2007 Document 32. Editorial published in the Capital Gazette after a Shooting at Their Newsroom, 2018 Document 33. President Donald Trump’s Statement on the Murder of Jamal Khashoggi, 2018 Chapter 5. Attacks on Perceived Media Bias Document 34. Editorial in The Atlantic Monthly, 1908 Document 35. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Press Conference, 1935 Document 36. Statement from Representative Lamar Smith on Media Bias, 2008 Document 37. Testimony to the U.S. House from Dan Gainor, 2009 Document 38. Statement from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on Climate Change, 2013 Document 39. Paper by Jackie Calmes, “They Don’t Give a Damn about Governing,” 2015 Document 40. Willnat, Weaver, and Wilhoit on The American Journalist in the Digital Age, 2017 Document 41. Tweets about Fox News and the Democratic National Convention, 2019 Chapter 6. Aspirational Critiques Document 42. Walter Lippmann’s “Journalism and the Higher Law,” 1920 Document 43. Hutchins Commission Report on Freedom of the Press, 1947 Document 44. Kerner Commission Report on “The News Media and the Disorders,” 1968 Document 45. Testimony on Media Coverage of the 2000 Election, 2001 Document 46. Interview with Reporters on Civil Rights Coverage, 2004 Document 47. Testimony on the Future of Journalism, 2009 Document 48. Leonard Downie Jr. and Michael Schudson, Reconstruction of American Journalism, 2009 Document 49. Union of Concerned Scientists’ Report on Coverage of Climate Science, 2014 Chapter 7. Politicians Attacking the Press Document 50. President George Washington’s Letter on the Press, 1793 Document 51. President Thomas Jefferson’s Letters on Newspapers, 1803 and 1807 Document 52. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Press Conference, 1938 Document 53. Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Reply to Edward R. Murrow, 1954 Document 54. President John F. Kennedy’s Address on the President and the Press, 1961 Document 55. President Richard Nixon’s News Conference on Tape Recordings, 1973 Document 56. President Barack Obama’s Remarks on Polarized Politics, 2016 Chapter 8. Attacks in the Era of Social Media and Fake News Document 57. President Donald Trump’s Tweets on “Fake News,” 2016–2020 Document 58. Statement from the Committee to Protect Journalists about the Trump Presidency, 2016 Document 59. President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” Rally in Youngstown, Ohio, 2017 Document 60. Opposition to the SESTA-FOSTA Act, 2017 Document 61. The Journalist Protection Act, 2018 Document 62. Senator Jeff Flake’s Statement on “Truth and Democracy,” 2018 Document 63. Coordinated Editorials Condemning President Trump, 2018 Document 64. Department of Justice’s Announcement of Charges against Cesar Sayoc, 2018 Document 65. Announcements of Hiring and Removal of Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, 2019–2020 Document 66. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Statement about an NPR Reporter, 2020 Chronology Bibliography Index About the Authors