Introduction
Throughout history, the United States has worked out the principles of relations with the media. For many decades, the American society has been discussing the problem of interaction between the media and the state and their mutual influence on the functioning process. The interaction of these institutions is contradictory. On the one hand, it is a profitable interaction; on the other hand, a struggle of interests. Thus, the interaction of the Government and the mass media is a system of relations developing between public administration bodies.
Principles of The Media
The principles of the relationship between the state and the media in the United States that have been established for many decades allow talking about a significant political component in the functioning of the media. Politicians actively use it as a platform to express their views and political interests. It is also the ability of the press itself to influence politics and participate in its formation that is highly appreciated by the latter (Kenski 318). At the same time, it is indicated that the media have signs of a political institution. This means that the press acts either as an independent subject of political relations or as a tool used by certain groups and institutions to realize particular interests.
Each of the different approaches reflects different functional features of the mass media: the presence of signs of social, economic, and political institutions in the media. However, the most significant in the social functioning of the media is still the political component (Kenski 319). The state has played a significant role in implementing political interests using the media and their involvement in socio-political processes at various historical stages. Moreover, throughout the history of the development of relations between the state and the media, these processes’ political and legal basis has been a priority for the American authorities. This is a particular specific characteristic of the US state policy towards the press.
At the stage of the formation of American statehood, which coincided with the time of the emergence and development of the media system, the authorities used the press to strengthen the United States as a single state (“The Impact of the Media”). According to politicians of that time, the press was supposed to promote the dissemination of state information to help government officials in carrying out their political activities. Thomas Jefferson has repeatedly argued in favor of the fact that newspapers should be considered a kind of government tool for realizing certain goals.
The Current State of The Media
The main distinguishing feature in the media classification system is the type of interaction. This feature characterizes the social and political aspect of the institute of mass media activities and the specifics of the relations of the press with society and public authorities (Kenski 320). It is one of the main problems studied in this work. In the United States, there has traditionally been a circle of mass media that closely interacts with the president and Congress, with the political and economic elite, and most fully covers their activities. The research literature has widely reflected the point of view that television networks and news magazines are essential for the political leadership of America (“The Impact of the Media”). This is reflected in the sense that through them, politicians get an idea of the attitude of voters towards them, about the perception of their actions by the audience.
The proclamation of freedom of the press was an important democratic achievement. Despite the persecution to which progressive periodicals and their employees were subjected, the constitutional right to freedom of the press gave citizens a specific legal basis for expressing their views on any issues (Wukich 195). However, the executive authorities can carry out the so-called preliminary restriction. To this end, they apply to the court with a petition to issue a court order banning specific material (books, articles) from being prepared for publication. The Government may also, after publication, go to court and initiate a criminal case or bring a civil lawsuit against the author or publisher. Preliminary censorship is allowed concerning crucial military information, obscenities, materials that incite acts of violence, or the overthrow of the Government, violating citizens’ right to privacy.
This is confirmed by concrete practice; therefore, a crucial clash was connected with the case of the Pentagon documents. These documents related to the US military actions in Vietnam. Daniel Ellsberg, a prominent American scientist who participated in their preparation, took copies and gave them to the press (Dahm). The New York Times newspaper, followed by the Washington Post, began publishing these materials. The Government went to court and filed lawsuits against newspapers, demanding an injunction against publications (Dahm). After hearing the parties arguments, the Supreme Court decided by a majority vote that the Government did not provide convincing arguments in favor of issuing a court order banning the publication of these documents.
The meaning of the decision of the members of the court, who rejected the lawsuit against the newspapers, was as follows. The First Amendment allows the press to publish materials, whatever their source, free from prior censorship (Wilson 2). In extraordinary circumstances, the Government can request through the court to prohibit the publication of certain materials, but there were no such concerns in this case. The court disagreed with the Government’s contention that publishing the documents would cause severe immediate, and irreparable damage to US state security.
Freedom and Government
The US government has the right to violate the First Amendment, as many notes have appeared. It has to present strong arguments every time to justify introducing any restriction on freedom of speech or freedom of the press (Dragomir 1135). The Government must prove that this restriction is necessary to achieve a goal of great importance, such as, example, protecting national security or protecting citizens’ privacy. In principle, freedom of the press can only be restricted in order to prevent a direct and obvious danger threatening to cause significant direct, immediate damage.
In another equally important respect, the First Amendment is interpreted more broadly than its text makes clear (Le). Although it refers only to normative acts, it is usually extended to all actions of State power, including orders of the executive, judicial and administrative authorities. It is essential that the amendment, protecting the press from encroachments on its freedom by the state, does not protect against non-state restrictions on freedom of speech. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court ruled that whenever a private accusation of libel is brought against the media, it is considered equivalent to state interference in exercising the rights of the press (Wukich 190). Consequently, the press can count on the protections guaranteed by the First Amendment.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be noted that the media and the Government interact quite closely. This is manifested in the fact that many political aspects are reflected in newspapers, news, and the Internet. All this often also becomes a reason for conflicts. This is due to the fact that there are no state media in the United States. Accordingly, in order to control the activity, it is necessary to take various control measures through legislation. However, for the most part, the interaction of these two structures is productive. This is reflected in the fact that many politicians interact with the media to cover their own political activities. Media independence also allows US citizens to get the correct picture of the agenda.
Works Cited
Dahm, Angie. “The Media and Vietnam.” Mckendree, 2017, Web.
Dragomir, Marius. “Control the Money, Control the Media: How Government Uses Funding to Keep Media in Line.” Journalism, vol. 19, no. 8, 2018, pp. 1131–1148.
Kenski, Kate. “The US Media, Foreign Policy and Public Support for War.” The Oxford Handbook of Political Communication, edited by Kathleen Hall Jamieson, vol. 1, New York, Oxford University Press, 2017, pp. 315–327.
Le, Stefanie. “The Relationship Between the Media and the Military.” Harvard Library, Harvard Extension School, 2016. Web.
“The Impact of the Media.” Lumen, Lumen Learning, 2017, Web.
Wilson, Michael Raphael. “Media Government Interactions in the United States.” Global Media Journal, vol. 32, no. 161, 2019, pp. 1–4, Web.
Wukich, Clayton. “Government Social Media Engagement Strategies and Public Roles.” Public Performance & Management Review, vol. 44, no. 1, 2021, pp. 187–215.