How the first amendment effects journalism

If it wasn’t for the first amendment, it is likely that the whole profession of journalism could not exist. The first amendment to the constitution gives Americans the right to free speech, along with freedom of the press. By allowing Americans to have the freedom to speak and right about what they want, Americans can write stories that are investigative and critical of government without fear of punishment. The first amendment was strengthened by the New York Times vs Sullivan case, in which the jury decided that public figures are not entitled to the same privacy that everyday citizens are, and that means that newspapers do not have to be afraid when they print a story. It is our freedom in media that allows us to speak our minds about any issue, and as long as the piece isn’t slanderous or libel it is fit to be published. Without the first amendment, journalists would be too scared to write stories and there’d be no such profession.