Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in New York

Re: freedom of press

This is an area of law that is undergoing changes in America. The short answer is, it isn't. The press is protected by the U.S. Constitution which guarantees freedom of the press and the press can print anything that they obtain, so long as the press did not break the law to obtain the information. Traditionally any censorship on the part of the press has been self-censorship.

However the reality, especially recently, isn't so simple. The government has become much more aggressive in trying to keep the press from printing confidential or sensitive information. They have subpoenaed reporters for their records of who their sources were in obtaining secret information and have prosecuted reporters who refused to tell. They have threatened reporters who they believe obtained information they weren't entitled to have. They have berated reporters for printing material that they suggest is dangerouys to national security, even when the information printed has been publically discussed in the past and they have even suggested that reporters who publish sensitive material or spoke to government officials not authorized to share sensitive information could be jailed under the Patriot Act as aiding and abetting terrorists. In other words, while the government has become much more aggressive with respect to reporters, and reporters do not have a legal federal right to shield the identity of people they speak to or receive information from, it isn't clear yet how far the government can legally go in stopping reporterers from printing the information they receive.

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