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Angela Arevalo

Honors Journalism

Barefoot

24 May 2017

White House Correspondents Dinner Roast PT II

The first amendment. Three simple words that we Americans do not think about until

they are being threatened. Out of 195 countries, America is lucky to be part of the 74% of the

with their freedom of speech rights being protected. (Freedom House) The first amendment

guarantees the protection of this right as well as protection of our right to freedom of the press.

No one can take this from a citizen, not even the government. Those particular rights in the First

Amendment have been challenged multiple times throughout Americas history, whether it be

challenging the rights in the Supreme Court, officials boycotting the White House

Correspondents dinner, or US government deciding what news sources are factual by bias.

America is a Democratic Republic, meaning the people elect who they want to represent

them in government. Freedom of the press is essential when living in a free country because, as

Thomas Jefferson said during the creation of the Bill of Rights, every man should receive those

papers and be capable of reading them. In order to make informed decisions about what goes on

in the government, citizens need to have information. In 1971, this theory was tested in front of

the US Supreme Court. The New York Times was given classified government information

about the illegal actions that the government was doing in Vietnam, they were later called the

Pentagon Papers. The New York Times exploited the government's execrable actions to the

public. President Nixon and Attorney General John Mitchell quickly issued a prior restraint but
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thanks to the constitution, they could not stop the press. (Encyclopdia Britannica) In the court,

it was decided that the prior restraint was unjustified because the release, although illegal, did not

put the Unites States in danger. (Pearson) This ruling set a precedent because it meant that

journalist can give the public whatever information, as long as it does not hurt the government.

The White House Correspondents Association hosts a dinner every year in Washington.

This is an exciting night because it means that the media gets to mingle around with celebrities,

athletes, and White House Administrators, but this year, mingling isnt exactly what happened.

The President, along with his entire Administration did not attend the dinner. Not many people

were surprised since Trump has been at war with the press since the first days of his campaign,

a situation that reached a breaking point when he referred to the media as the enemy of the

American people. (ABC News) This is the first time in 36 years that president has not attended

WHCD. (White House Correspondents Dinner). Regardless of the people not in attendance the

host, Hassan Minhaj from the Daily Show, continued the night by making it about defending

the first amendment and freedom of the press. No one can take these rights from us. Hassan

made a point of proving that during his speech by taking constant shots at both, the members of

the media and at the President along with his administration. Hassan made it clear during the

speech that in this day in age it doesnt matter who you are or where you come from this dinner

was a sign to the rest of the world, that even the president, is not beyond the reach of the first

amendment.

Nowadays, we live in a virtual world where almost everyone has access to a TV, a cell

phone, or computer. This makes the media more accessible than ever before, which could

potentially be a problem. Not all news sources are factual, some produce bias information. When
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corporations produce bias information it is unfortunate to those who read it, because it is the

writer's perspective and personal feelings towards the subject rather than the truth. Regardless,

the media has a right to release whatever it wants. Recently, members of the United States

government have refused to talk to certain media corporations, simply because they dont like

what the press has reported, but they do not get the right as to decide what is fake news and what

is real news based on how they feel. If the facts are laid out right in front of them the government

cannot deny the truth, especially if the news [is] factual not driven by opinion. (Trevor Noah)

Although the First Amendment has been challenged multiple times throughout Americas

history, it has been proven that the government can take journalist to the Supreme Court, it can

boycott important dinners and it can even declare news to be fake, but it cannot take rights that

are guaranteed by the first amendment from a citizen. The precedent set by the Supreme Court

proved that journalist had the right to keep citizens informed because each citizen has to be able

to make informed choices about the government. Hassan Minhaj proved that no one is above the

law, not even the president. The media also reiterated the subject when it exposed the

government for trying to decide what was real by opinion. As long as the members of the US

understand that you cannot be free without freedom of speech and press, than we will continue to

live in a country where the members are well informed.