Freedom of Speech in Journalism

 Sorry this is a wee bit late, but we've all been a wee bit late with things this crazy semester!!

Freedom of Speech is Journalism is always a fun thing to talk about because we can all easily come up with outlets which we would love to see shut down or journalists we'd love to see censured. Unfortunately, freedom of speech means sites like the Daily Stormer will likely stay online until Andrew Anglin runs out of money. 

Freedom of Speech also means that bias can infect outlets quite easily. There is no obligation for news organizations to stay neutral when reporting, regardless of the guidelines. As a result of this, our news seeks sensationalism in order to get attention. Organizations such as Fox News and MSNBC have continually found that their most opinionated segments are the ones that get the most attention. Therefore there is no reason to be unbiased. And here is where our free speech kicks in. They can say some of the most ridiculous or unfounded crap in the world, but because it's not violating free speech (say, calling for violence) it's allowed to stay up. This has led to a radicalization of the American public as partisan voices gain more and more power. As people reject alternative media sources, alternate news outlets gain traction.

The Overton Window in American politics has swung wide open as a result of freedom of speech. We can talk about more and more things. To be honest, these ideas have always existed in American society, with small Nazi and Communist organizations in existence for decades. However, with the introduction of the internet, these radicals can quickly spread their ideas amongst an unsatisfied American people, and there's nothing we can do to stop it with the First Amendment in place. 

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