no1knows344 :
Oof we are super uneducated it’s embarrassing.. confusing “the Press” as an industry with freedom of the press as a constitutional right. The First Amendment doesn’t create a special class of licensed journalists. It protects the act of gathering and publishing information from government interference.
When the Constitution was written in 1787 and the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, there were no journalism degrees, no TV stations, no FCC credentials, and no government-issued “press passes.” There were pamphleteers, printers, writers, publishers, and ordinary citizens sharing information. People like Thomas Paine weren’t part of some officially recognized media organization… they exercised freedom of the press by publishing ideas.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that First Amendment protections aren’t limited to corporate media. If you lawfully gather information in a public place and publish it, you’re exercising freedoms of speech and of the press. That’s why independent journalists, bloggers, YouTubers, photographers, documentary filmmakers, and everyday citizens all receive First Amendment protections.
The Constitution doesn’t say “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of CNN.” It says “the freedom of speech, or of the press.” The right belongs to the people.. not a government-approved profession.
2026-07-26 23:26:43