Dear Dr. Ink:
Hello. I’m an 8th-grader currently attending Corona Fundamental Intermediate school. My History Day project is based on freedom of the press but I need an event with a date. Do you have any suggestions?? It needs to be something that affected the freedom or support of the press. Thank you so much for your time and help.
Sincerely,
Anna Dewey
Dr. Ink is delighted to learn that they are now naming fundamental schools after fine Mexican beers. Doc, by the way, graduated from Dos Equis University. When he received this missive from an earnest 8th-grader, Dr. Ink admits to being stumped. He couldn’t think of a single event, or a single date, he would immediately associate with the freedom of the press. No big date, such as 1066 or 1492 or 1776.
The best he could offer was the Supreme Court decision, “New York Times vs. Sullivan,” which gave the press great latitude in reporting about public figures. He had to research the date, and the details of the case, with the help of David Shedden.
New York Times vs. Sullivan.
On March 9, 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that public officials who believed they had been libeled by a news story related to their official duties could not recover damages unless they could prove actual malice. This case began when The New York Times published an advertisement that contained 14 factual errors about public officials and police in Montgomery, Ala. The Times lost the case in Alabama state court and appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled that because the individuals mentioned in the advertisement were public officials, they would have to prove that the advertisement was published with a reckless disregard for the truth or with knowledge that it contained false statements.
Justice William Brennan began the Court’s majority opinion with the following words: “We are required in this case to determine for the first time the extent to which the constitutional protections for speech and press limit a State’s power to award damages in a libel action brought by a public official against critics of his official conduct.”
Would Dr. Ink’s readers be willing to come to the aid of this enterprising young woman, who may grow up to be the next John Dewey, or, even better, a member of the law firm Dewey, Cheatam, and Howe?
[Name an event in American history that contributed to the freedom of the press, and, if you know it, the date.]
