The first amendment states that we have the right to free speech and press, but its seems that the media is always caught up in whether an issue is going to cause legal and moral issues. A big question is if the Government should have some control over the media and press.
Libel is defamation in written word. Seditious Libel is the same but is defaming the Church or State. The John Peter Zenger case was a famous seditious libel case. Zenger was imprisoned after making critical comments against the colonial government. He was acquitted after ten months. Now, we have The Sedition Act of 1798, which allowed the truth as the defense against a libel case.
Seditious libel and the Zenger case are good examples on why the government shouldn't have much to do with media and press. If government was allowed to control the press things that may be important may not be printed because it posed a bad image for them.
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