The First Amendment states that “no law shall be made
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. Or the right of
the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress
of grievances.”
One of the
most praised amendments to our constitution would be the first. It is usually
shortened to “the right to free speech”. In other words, you have the right to
express yourself and your beliefs without being punished.
This freedom
is one that those in the journalism and public relations field can be thankful
for. When our job is to communicate the truth and reveal the facts to the
public, freedom of speech is a handy thing to have on our side.
People have
been feuding the depths of this law recently with people being fired for their
speech, students being punished in school for social media, and rules being set
regarding people posting opinions in public forums. Many high schools have
recently made it known that any students posting inappropriately on social
media can be punished at school, even if the post has nothing to do with the
school.
Some
workplaces have fired employees for posting on social media. Many times this
happens it can end in lawsuits or disputes regarding the right to free speech
being taken away. The law does not protect us from being punished by privately
owned companies or organizations, only the law.
In most cases
regarding freedom of speech, the only real crime you can be punished for would
be the use of libel. Libel is defined as “the false and malicious publication
printed for the purpose of defaming a living person”. This act is something
that would be seen as freedom of speech but protects us all from having lies
spread that could harm us.
If you sue a
person for libel, you must prove it with 5 things. 1. Prove the statement was
false. 2. Prove the statement was about you. 3. Show how the statement has
harmed you or your reputation. 4. Prove the statement was made public. 5. Prove
that this person intended to harm your reputation and that they intended
malice. For most cases the most important proof to have is that the statement
made was actually false.
In most of the journalism courses I have
taken I learned that libel is actually hard to win a case over, which can be
good or bad. If a journalist has just made the mistake of publishing a rumor
they believed to be true then they don’t deserve to be sued for libel. But if
the publication had been published when they knew it was false they deserve
what they have coming. It is good that these requirements are here to protect
those in the field of journalism and public relations and is bad because this
makes it harder when you are trying to win the lawsuit as a plaintiff.
In my career I
hope I never have to deal with such a scary thought as being sued, but it is
something those of us who hope to be in the profession need to be aware of and
know the details just in case. As far as being fired for something I post on
Facebook or Twitter? I’m not sure how much I enjoy the idea. Obviously I am
majoring in something that is all about how the public sees me and those I am
representing, but it’s also a scary thought knowing I could lose my job for
posting my opinion on certain matters.
I believe that
everyone does have a right under the first amendment and that right should be
honored, yet we all also need to remember that while we use this right, it is
also your employers right to take away your privilege to represent them while
you use it. My advice is to think before you act when posting on social media,
and try to keep yourself objective when it comes to controversial matters and
your opinion.
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