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The Right vs. the Press blog
Seven Things Americans Get Wrong About the First AmendmentHate speech, fire in a theater, private companies, flag burning, the press clause and more. Seven popular claims tested against the cases, with verdicts.Private Company Is Not the End of the Debate Over Platform PowerThe libertarian answer at its best, the common-carrier tradition, Justice Thomas in 2021, the Florida and Texas laws and what Moody v. NetChoice decided.Should New York Times v. Sullivan Be Revisited? The Case For and AgainstThe actual-malice rule protects the press conservatives complain about and every right-leaning outlet too. The best case for revisiting it, and the answer.The Internet Broke the Gatekeepers, and the Right Was Quick to See ItOnce anyone could publish, the old press lost its power to decide which stories existed. The record shows conservatives used that freedom early and well.Cable News Timeline From the First 24-Hour Channel to the Three-Network RaceA dated timeline of cable news, from CNN in 1980 to the 1996 launches of MSNBC and Fox News, with a line on why each step mattered to viewers.How a Dying AM Dial Turned Into the Biggest Platform for Conservative IdeasTalk radio grew from technology, money and an audience nobody served. The Fairness Doctrine's repeal helped, but it did not build the business.The Fairness Doctrine From 1949 to 1987 and Why Its Repeal Still MattersA government rule once told broadcasters what balance meant. Here is how it began, why it ended, and who gets to decide fairness if it ever returns.Taxpayer-Funded Broadcasting, Ten Questions and the Honest AnswersTen questions on public broadcasting: the 1967 Act, PBS and NPR, rural stations, the market and First Amendment arguments, and what to concede.How to Evaluate Any News Source With a Twelve-Point ChecklistTwelve questions, grouped and explained, that work on any outlet from any side: ownership, sourcing, corrections, headlines, single studies and cross-checks.The Founders' Partisan Press Was Far Nastier Than Anything on Your FeedThe first generation of Americans ran openly partisan papers and thought that was healthy. Their story is a cure for nostalgia about a neutral press.