A free press guarantees that the state will not be in charge of telling us the news. This is not something every country has. At the time when this part of the First Amendment was adopted, it was fairly unique. Most governments believed in censorship in a big way.
There is a lot to this particular freedom. It gives people with opposing viewpoints the right to state that view. It gives readers and viewers a way to see more than one side of an issue. If you try doing that in the Middle East right now, you might wind up dead.
Like any right, there are responsibilities with a free press. There is a certain amount of censorship; libel and slander are not to be tolerated. It is also not right to incite violence, hatred or encourage illegal activities. Many publications also will not tolerate graphic articles or pictures of a sexual nature. There are other publications that will accept that sort of material.
There is also a responsibility to be careful with bias. Everyone’s got an opinion. Everyone has certain beliefs. It is the responsibility of both the reporter and the publication to leave these out of news reports. That doesn’t mean they can’t be expressed. Opinions and editorials should be kept to that section of the news, not as part of a news story.
Propaganda is another issue that should be considered when looking at the responsibilities of a free press. Again, it shouldn’t be restricted, but it should have its own place and be known for what it is. Otherwise, you are spoon feeding the readers your own ideas and calling it news.
There are many who believe that at least one body of the press should be banned. This opinion supposedly comes from high up in the government. As I can’t find proof that this is true, I hesitate to believe it. However, if it is, remember that this sort of censorship is not acceptable under the First Amendment.
Disliking the opinions and editorials of those who oppose you politically is not a reason to violate our fundamental freedoms. To be honest, there are publications I don’t like. The slant and bias are utterly opposed to mine. I don’t think they should be banned; I simply don’t read them or watch them. That’s my right. Anything else would be wrong