Press freedom and the First Amendment

Any discussion of press freedom and libel law begins with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

"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 peacefully to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

As you can see the First Amendment is actually three separate clauses that deal with different kinds of freedoms. The first clause deals with freedom of religion. It says Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion, which seems pretty clear. If you are an American, Congress won't make a law banning you from practicing that religion.

But it also says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. What does that mean? Basically it means that the U.S . will not be a theocracy, meaning our government won't be run according to the rules of a particular religion.

Theocracies aren't unusual; in fact there are many of them around the world today, including many in the Middle East. But the founding fathers were saying there would not be one official American religion and that the government would not be run according to religious law. In other words, separation of church and state.

The second clause says Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or the press. Abridging means to limit or curtail. Freedom of the press is what applies to us most directly as journalists. Today we refer to the news media, but when the First Amendment was written there were no news websites or 24 hour cable news channels, just the printing press and newspapers.

Freedom of speech applies more broadly to the citizenry. In America you have the right to speak out and criticize things like the government, powerful institutions or even individual leaders without fear of being censored or arrested, which is what happens in many countries.

The final clause of the First Amendment talks about the "right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." What does that mean? It means Americans who are unhappy with some aspect of the government can protest if they want, or to form groups to oppose policies or laws that they believe are unjust.