Once again, the First Amendment is Presented to the People

Sourced from the National Archive. (c) 2006 Associated Press


Posted by Mugambi Nthiga

Feeling that the public perceives the press as a group of “unethical snoops”, and seeking to restore its image as “heroic investigators”, the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) and the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) will carry out a public awareness campaign on the First Amendment and its importance to the press.

According to The Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press, the awareness drive is part of a larger campaign to drum up public support for the First Amendment in innovative ways, and with help from more than 1,000 news organizations. This drive will involve the formidable task of digitizing government information, offering the public online access to government documents, and collaborating to improve reporters’ skills as watchdog journalists.

Toni Locy, one reporter being upheld as a living example of why such a campaign is necessary, works for the USA Today and is going through the appeal process for a contempt-of-court citation brought against her for refusing to reveal her sources in the infamous 2001 anthrax-mailing controversy.