The First Amendment and Journalists

According to the book Writing for Mass Media, the First Amendment to the constitution states that “Congress shall make 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 people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” So why is this important to journalists? Well, when journalists have to write or broadcast stories, they have to be able to say what they want. It is important that no one can interfere with what they want to say. It is also important for journalists to express themselves however they want to.
However, journalists still have limitations. Journalists have to make sure they’re stories are accurate and true. There are three defenses against libel that exist. One is truth. Basically, you have to verify the information you published to make sure it’s true. The second is privilege, which applies to journalists who are covering any of the three branches of government. Finally there is fair comment and criticism, which means that journalists are protected as long as they don’t misstate any of the facts they base their comments on, and they don’t damage the information that they base their opinions on.