FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOR WHOM? THE QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED IN OUR CRITICAL JUNCTURE Robert W. McChesney*
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INTRODUCTION
“Freedom of the press for whom?” That was the question that Professor Jerome Barron raised some forty years ago.1 It was a revolutionary question because in six words it called into question the dominant perception of freedom of the press, as it was commonly understood at the time, and subsequently. It was a brave question too, because it came at a time in which raising such a point was far from popular, and easily misinterpreted and misunderstood. It stepped on very powerful toes. It demanded that we come to terms with the political economy of the media, and deal frankly with the implications of media structures for media content. In many respects, Professor Barron was decades ahead of his time, and all of us today owe him an enormous debt of gratitude for his vision. In this Article, I would like to explain why I think this question is, right now, in the process of being answered. And if it is to be answered in a progressive manner, by the American people and ultimately by the Supreme Court, it will be so done by people standing on Professor Barron’s shoulders. Let me make clear what this Article is not: a legal treatise on the First Amendment or constitutional law. What my Article will draw upon is my work as a communication policy historian, and with that my understanding of why we are in a rare period, a critical juncture, when the shape of the media system is undergoing a dramatic transformation. As a result of this critical juncture it is likely that the Supreme Court will revisit the issue “freedom of the press for whom?” And I suspect that what happens politically in the coming years will influence how the Supreme Court ultimately answers that question. So this Article will also allude to what is happening “on the ground,” so to speak. My Article will also draw upon my work as an activist, to connect my research to a * Robert W. McChesney is the Gutgsell Endowed Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he teaches in the Department of Communication. He has written several books, most recently, COMMUNICATION REVOLUTION: CRITICAL JUNCTURES AND THE FUTURE OF MEDIA (New Press 2007). He is the co-founder and president of the media reform group Free Press, www.freepress.net. 1. JEROME A. BARRON, FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOR WHOM?: THE RIGHT OF ACCESS TO MASS MEDIA (1973).
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