Printers and Press Freedom

Download or read book Printers and Press Freedom written by Jeffery Alan Smith and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1988 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this study of the origins of the press clause of the First Amendment, Jeffery A. Smith traces the development of a widespread conception of the press as necessarily exempt from all government restrictions, but still liable for the defamation of individuals. Drawing on sources ranging from political philosophers to court records and newspaper essayists, Smith concludes that the generation that produced the First Amendment believed that government should not be trusted and that the press needed the broadest possible protection in order to serve as a check on the misuse of power.