Freedom of the Press and Controversial Issues

Freedom of the Press in Sharing Sensitive Information The United States Constitution guarantees several individual freedoms including freedom of speech and freedom of the press. However, there are scenarios where freedom of the press and freedom of speech generate significant concerns and questions, especially with regards to sharing sensitive information or addressing controversial issues. In the modern society, many new outlets across mass media compete for people's attention to an extent that some of them focus on very sensitive and controversial subjects in order to generate huge audiences.

This practice has been criticized as harmful to the society while others argue that it is appropriate to report such issues in that manner. The right to freedom of speech should not be used by media outlets to emphasize very controversial and sensitive issues to merely obtain an audience. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the emerging trend of emphasizing very sensitive and controversial topics in news outlets has or does not have a negative effect on some working environments.

The chief reason for writing this paper is to show that the press should not take advantage of the right to freedom of speech to simply attract an audience by emphasizing very sensitive and controversial issues or topics. This is a very important topic to readers since it highlights some of ways through which freedom of speech and freedom of the press are contradictory.

Through this paper, the reader will gain insights about freedom of the press, emerging trend towards focusing on sensitive and controversial topics, and the negative impact of this trend on some working environments. The paper basically presents a balanced approach towards examining this controversial issue by comparing and analyzing the major points in the various arguments and counterarguments in order to reach a suitable conclusion. This article will provide a brief overview of freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

This will be followed by an analysis of the emerging trend and examination of arguments and counterarguments regarding its impact on the society and some work environments. The evaluation of the various arguments and counterarguments will be used to come to a particular conclusion regarding the issue. Emerging Trend and Freedom of the Press Freedom of the press and freedom of speech are two important human rights that are guaranteed by the United States Constitution in order to enable its citizens to speak and/or publish freely.

These two rights are entrenched in America's constitutional law to promote free expression, which is directly linked to vibrant democracy ("Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Press," n.d.). Generally, these civil liberties are geared towards ensuring people and the media have the freedom to obtain information from various sources, make decisions, and communicate them without any interference from the government. These freedoms were enacted as indispensable tools or mechanisms for promoting self-governance in a democratic society.

Throughout the years, the media in the United States have continued to use these freedoms to obtain and communicate information without governmental interference. In light of the recent technological advancements, media outlets have continued to face significant competition from the emergence of new outlets. This competition has largely focused on obtaining a huge audience in order to gain competitive advantage over rivals. The increased competition for audience has been characterized by adoption of various efforts and initiatives to attract audience.

In the past few years, news outlets like radio, television, cable, and the Internet has emphasized very sensitive and controversial issues as part of efforts to gain an audience. The recent trend to attract an audience by emphasizing sensitive and controversial subjects has generated significant debates that are largely based on whether this practice is beneficial or harmful to the society, particularly work environments. During this process of focusing on sensitive and controversial topics, the initiatives by various media outlets have been centered on attracting an audience.

Actually, the emphasis on sensitive and controversial subjects has not primarily been driven by the need to address these issues but by the need to attract an audience in order to generate profits and increase revenue. Proponents of this practice state that it is suitable to report this kind of speech in such a manner because the content is not the problem.

In this case, media outlets should report such speech in such a fashion since freedom of speech and freedom of the press gives them the liberty to do whatever they like though according to the law (Soave, 2015). Secondly, the freedom of the press and freedom of speech do not necessarily focus on content but on ensuring that individuals and the media can express themselves freely in a democratic society.

Since the focus of these constitutional provisions is not content but enhancing democracy, it is appropriate for news outlets to report sensitive and controversial topics in such manner. Third, these proponents support their claim on the premise that the media has a responsibility to inform. This implies that the media should inform the public on all issues including sensitive and controversial subjects.

On the contrary, opponents of the recent trend of emphasis on sensitive and controversial issues by news outlets have dismissed these claims by stating that the practice is harmful to the society, especially on some work environments. Opponent of this recent trend base their arguments on the premise that media should not only be free but also responsible. In this case, the freedom of the press and freedom of speech should not be curtailed but news outlets should demonstrate social responsibility when reporting various issues, particularly sensitive and controversial topics.

Therefore, the media seemingly violates these liberties when reporting sensitive and controversial issues with the sole aim of attracting an audience for increased revenue with little or no disregard to social responsibility. One of the arguments against the recent trend by the media to focus on these subjects in order to attract an audience is that the practice makes news outlets to have rapid emotional response.

By following this line, the media fails to be voice of reason by examining the impact of the subjects on the society (Kane & Jeppsen, 2014). News outlets not only exist to generate profits and revenue but are required to be socially responsible in this process in order to act as voices of reason. Secondly, while the media has a duty to inform the public, such duty should be fulfilled in a responsible manner that does not violate freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

In essence, news outlets should not only emphasize on sensitive and controversial topics but should ensure balanced reporting through gathering information, verifying facts, and examining every side of an issue. Third, this practice is harmful to the society because there is need to balance between public interest.