What is Free Media?
Most Americans know we have freedom of the press, but do they really know what that means or how to access it? Are we giving up our free press by default?
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution says:
“First Amendment.” Constitution.Congress.gov, Amendment-1. https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/ Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Merriam-Webster defines freedom of the press as:
“Freedom of the press.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freedom%20of%20the%20press. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Takeaway: Every single American has a right to freedom of speech and freedom of press in the United States. That means you can say whatever you want in the press because it belongs to you—with some defined restrictions and consequences—ruled later by the Supreme Court. Few Americans are using that right, and a growing number of them do not know how. That has disastrous consequences for America—because those who do not know how to access their rights give them up by default. Such trend has created a massive disinformation loop.
Since I am not a lawyer, I will direct readers to the Cornell Law School directory for a summary of all the cases regarding the Supreme Court and freedom of the press to learn more about the “restrictions and consequences” element in the takeway.
I started this media literacy substack partly because most Americans have no idea how to access freedom of the press. I hope to teach more as time goes on. Americans can access their right to freedom of the press by learning earned media skills—the subject for next week.
Donald Trump, for instance, is a master at earned media. Many argue his mastery of earned media is exactly how he took power in the United States. I would agree.
Yet, I often hear many people—even those in my career field—say he gets free media. That’s not exactly true. We all have the right to free media, actually. So, what makes Donald Trump different?
Donald Trump uses earned media. His trial right now is a perfect example of earned media, and based on 2020 indications, his mastery of this skill is how he intends to get into office in 2024.
Sadly, though, as Donald Trump uses earned media all the time, he often discredits it when it comes to other people using it. This is dangerous. He constantly makes remarks against the free press that put him into power. In other words, he will have you give up your right to free press by convincing you that you don’t have the right in the first place.
Trump is not the only one doing this. It’s happening across the political aisles by those in government. To my dismay, Bernie Sanders also did the same thing when he was running for election—and many of the current third party candidates are as well. As citizens, we need to be able to point it out. Every single time we criticize freedom of the press, we are taking away our own rights.
Since everyone has a right to both free and earned media—even people who lie, in most cases—the solution is not silencing those we disagree with. That will never work. The solution is media literacy. Earned media skills are critical to learn if you want to spot disinformation.
Stay tuned next week to learn more about earned media and its positive and negative effects on society—and how you can and should be using it to protect yourself.