Notes that despite recent United States Supreme Court decisions that have been unfavorable to the press, a First Amendment-based conditional privilege protecting the editorial process against governmental intrusion survives. (FL)

A common misconception among first-year university students is that the United States provides unabridged, uncensored absolute free speech rights. Evidently these assumptions are derived from popular press and entertainment industry images which place heavy emphasis on one end of the debate. It is a shock for some students to be exposed to the…

Suggests focusing on the actions of government that restrict free expression rather than focusing on the values served by freedom of expression. Bases the approach on the premise that the court's function is to determine when a particular government action violates the First Amendment, not whether the expression at issue is entitled to…

We are in the midst of a genuine First Amendment Crises. Government officials, who are totally immune from libel or slander suits for anything they write or say or do in office, are free to sue the people they are supposed to serve. Examples are provided. (RM)

Suggesting future lines of inquiry for policymakers and others, this report attempts to distill the essential points of discussion and debate that occurred during a conference on electronic media regulation and the first amendment attended by 21 experts representing legislative, regulatory, business, judicial, academic, audience, and media…

An analysis of first amendment guarantees focuses on the federal government's power to regulate experiments, arguing that they do not merit the stringent level of first amendment protection offered by strict scrutiny or related standards. (Author/MSE)

Three principles concerning children's intellectual rights are proposed and discussed. The principles are: (1) intellectual rights of children include access to ideas and freedom of expression; (2) denial of rights on the basis of lack of competence requires empirical justification; and (3) denial of rights on the basis of lack of competence…

Public broadcasting in the United States frequently draws criticism from conservatives who accuse it of pursuing an agenda promoting environmentalism, gay rights, affirmative action, reproductive choice, and other liberal causes, and of being hostile to conservative interests such as defense, the pro-life effort, and the promotion of Christian…

Explores five issues related to technology's impact on privacy and access to information--regulation and licensing of the press, electronic surveillance, invasion of privacy, copyright, and policy-making and regulation. The importance of First Amendment rights and civil liberties in forming a coherent national information policy is stressed.…

Censorship is found in all periods of American history, wherever people try to solve problems by cutting back on someone else's expression. Some examples of government censorship are described. (RM)

Explores the concepts of freedom and responsibility in the context of First Amendment theory through an examination of the interrelationships between defamation law, access to media, and media credibility. Calls for a reassessment of the importance of defamation law in First Amendment theory. (JMF)

Reviews the constitutions of several western states that provide an absolute barrier between religion and public education. Asserts that these laws were passed after the Civil War when concern about minority religious influence in some states was high. Maintains that these state laws may be the next battleground in the ongoing controversy about…

Because of the United States Court of Appeal's ruling ("Quincy Cable TV vs. Federal Communications Commission") that government regulation of what cable television stations can broadcast violates their First Amendment rights, a number of consequences have arisen concerning what cable stations are required to broadcast (must-carry rules),…

To consider one aspect of workplace freedom of speech--the question of authority versus freedom, this paper examines the first amendment protections of government workers. The paper looks at freedom of speech rights by using two theoretical frameworks (the natural rights view and the law and economics view) to analyze Supreme Court decisions on…

Describes a number of initiatives by the U.S. national security community that might restrict or monitor public access to sensitive but unclassified information. The current status of the initiatives, and their possible impact on freedom of information in a democratic society are discussed. (27 references) (Author/CLB)