The current ongoing acts of censorship in journalism are something that has not only gone against the First Amendment, but has affected journalists across the country, including aspiring student journalists like those here at City College.
In just a span of a month journalists and media organizations have been faced with multiple forms of attempted censorship from fiscal restrictions to the implementation of certain rules for coverage.
From Sept. 17 to Sept. 22, television host Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air due to remarks made about President Donald Trump regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk. On Oct. 15, reporters returned their access badges to the Pentagon after a policy release that, according to the Los Angeles Times, “would force journalists and media organizations to refrain from publishing any material that is not approved by the military.”
Censorship in the United States is not new and has been around for years. During World War I the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 were implemented to silence any criticism of the war. In the 1950s, McCarthyism led to self-censorship over fear of being associated with communist efforts against the U.S.
However, now it feels more like a physical enactment where one is taken off air or stricter laws have been attempted to be enacted compared to a verbal implementation of softer censorship despite having the First Amendment.
The United States ratified the First Amendment in 1791, laying a blueprint for other countries. However, in just 10 years the U.S. has experienced a decline in press freedom.
According to Reporters Without Borders the U.S. stands at 57 out of 180 countries with a score of 65.49 while in 2015, prior to the Trump Administration, the U.S. stood at 49 with a 75.59 score.
On Oct. 8 Trump gave a speech with concerns about protests and people burning the American flag.
“We took the freedom of speech away,” Trump said.
Government control has openly pushed for the elimination of free speech and with the lack of press freedom the distrust toward journalism will grow. In a world where news gets spun around due to censorship, artificial intelligence (AI) and “fake news,” journalists have only continued to face backlash.
People gather information from the news or the media and since journalists are being silenced, it’s essential to support news outlets.
The Channels and other student publications are meant to be a learning experience for students who aspire to be writers, broadcasters, analysts or workers in public relations.
Despite the opportunity there has been a lingering fear of whether our work will follow us. Due to the frequent censorship and silencing of the media, student journalists are left wondering in the future, if we could get in trouble or fired for saying something that contradicts an administration’s narrative.
The persistent attempts of censorship and disregard for freedom of speech have worried us student journalists who are being introduced to the journalism industry.
It has been and will continue to be The Channels’ right to report on City College and the community. Therefore, we aim to go above the attempted restrictions on journalists since it’s our responsibility and duty to keep going.
Along with the constant rise of social media, protests and community-funded journalism outlets, reporters are bound to fight against censorship.
In a time when journalists are facing new challenges in the field, our generation has been trained to be resilient in the face of adversity and understand that people can try to censor journalists, but news will only continue to be reported.
