Spring Break
Should the press be further regulated by the government? YES
The press is responsible for the long-term consequences of its content
Shannon Barry
Daily Staff Writer
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In the '70s, with the rise of the Watergate scandal and the Pentagon Papers, investigative journalism skyrocketed and led many invigorated newcomers to expose any scandal in sight.
With the technologies of the '80s at hand, giving rise to photojournalism, people began to question the merit of the press.
On Jan. 22, 1987, Pennsylvania Treasurer R. Budd Dwyer, accused of bribery, ended his life in front of television crews, newspaper reporters and photographers while they were waiting to hear a speech.
The question at hand was whether or not to show the incident.
Almost 20 years later we are at a crossroads faced with the same question.
According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, children often see or hear the news many times a day through television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the Internet. Statistics report a decrease in the incidence of crime, yet, the reporting of crime in the news has increased 240 percent.
These events may cause children to experience stress, anxiety, and fears, according to the report.
The recent arrest of Omar Vega, a student from San Francisco State University who photographed other students breaking into a car on campus raises recent issues for journalists.
Vega said he followed the students with his camera to report the news and not be a part of the crime. While the First Amendment protects his right as a journalist, the power of San Francisco State University as an institution, finds him in a legal bind.
If Vega, a freshman student and journalist, was found as an accomplice to a crime, we as a society must reevaluate the First Amendment's rights.
In the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights, it clearly states, "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press."
However, with the fueled debate over firearms in the Second Amendment - and its lack of clarity - how far should we read into the First Amendment and to what extent?
On May 11, 2004, an Islamist Web site posted a video showing the beheading of American Nicholas Berg in Iraq.
Not only disturbing is the fact that this event occurred, but that stations played the videotape, in some instances, to its full extent. Still shots of the killling can be found online.
This is not the right to exercise the First Amendment, but indecency to any human being who values the sanctity of life.
Why should the press be held to different standards than the readers, viewers, listeners they hope to influence each day?
According to the San Jose Mercury News they reach a readership of 825,400 total readers daily and peak at 901,300 on Sunday. At any given week, three out of four Santa Clara County adults have read a copy of the Mercury News.
As a society we need to remember that the stories we decide to report and the photos we decide to run won't just be thrown out with yesterday's garbage.
They will imprint themselves on readers' minds for years to come.
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