1986/01/01 by Doris A. Graber, Doris Α. Graber
Social Sciences · #Law, Rights, and Freedoms
paper · doi:10.2307/2151391
When evaluating concepts like freedom of speech and of the press, it is prudent to look beyond the benefit side of the ledger to the cost side as well. Only then can one judge whether benefits are worth the costs or whether one is paying too much for the proverbial whistle. Such a cost-benefit analysis has rarely been undertaken when it comes to press freedom. The importance of a free press has been so axiomatic that its presumed benefits have seldom been questioned, at least not publicly. There has been a good deal of discussion about the costs of press freedom when it clashes with other rights, such as citizen privacy, fair trials in the courts, or national security needs. But the belief that the benefits outweigh the costs because a free press is essential to sustaining American democracy has remained beyond doubt. With the bicentennial of constitutional protection of a free press approaching, it seems high time to examine the accuracy of this belief. What are the functions that make the press such a significant contributor to American democracy and the general welfare that its freedom has been constitutionally placed beyond the control of Congress and that it claims and enjoys a privileged status in American society? A survey of American political writings drawn from the pronouncements of its most renowned political leaders and from