Television and Media Essay - Dangers of Censorship :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Dangers of Censorship   Imagine yourself as a journalist straightaway who is frozen and wakes up in the United States 100 years from now.  The country has changed quite a bit from what you remember.  Technology has definitely advanced, language seems to have evolved a bit, and nothing looks the same, except fashion.  Due to a recent trend that brought back the 90s you atomic number 18 strangely up on the recent fashion trends.  As you undulate the streets, you try to gain a bearing on this advanced country so you pick up a newspaper.  You notice something rather peculiar around every article - the only when source is the United States Government.  As you read further, you notice very little information is given at all, and the details that be given are always in favor of the government.   Thinking back to 1999, you remember that high school publications were already censored and college censorship was not removed behind.  Could that trend have moved all the way to professional journalistic organizations?  While this is merely a fictitious projection into the future, it portrays the likely outcome of the precedents that are being set today.  If nothing is done, trends in high school and college censorship may lead to total press censorship in the United States, consequently violating the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.  This would, in turn, exterminate journalism and leave an assorted field of public relations.   The First Amendment of the United States Constitution clearly states that congress shall enlighten no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the plenty to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.  A journalist, whether he or she is a writer, editor, photographer or artist, believes in this right and has an obligation to drop it to inform the public.  So, the First Amendment not only protects journalists rights to free speech, but it also protects the publics right to information.  However, the courts have begun to take away these rights.   It began with high school publications in 1988.  During the fibre Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, the U.S. Supreme Court decided against students and gave school officials the ability to censor student publications without violating the First Amendment.  High school journalists now have the right to only print what the officials deem appropriate.