First Amendment Rights  |   Press Responsibilities 

First Amendment Rights The First Amendment and Freedom of the Press This article describes several Supreme Court cases in which First Amendment rights have been upheld, allowing the press to pursue its mission, no matter how odious that mission might seem to those in power. Author James Goodale, former general counsel to The New York Times, specializes in First Amendment and communications law. . The Pentagon Papers This brief article describes the events and impact of the Pentagaon Papers case, which illustrates the potential conflict between the imperatives of press freedom and national security. Press Responsibilities Media Conscience and Accountability News organizations in the United States are responding, often reluctantly, to increasing consumer complaints in a number of ways that demonstrate their accountability, says Bob Caldwell, who has been a writer, editor and ombudsman with The Oregonian, the largest daily newspaper in the Pacific Northwest. The Role of the Media in a Democracy In a free-market democracy, the people ultimately make the decision as to how their press should act, writes George Krimsky, the former head of news for the Associated Press and author of Hold the Press (The Inside Story on Newspapers).