Freedom of the Press

One way the government restricts the freedom of the press is through Prior Restraint. Prior Restraint is the government's action to keep information from reaching the public; in our country and usually has to do with military actions, secrets, etc. On one side this restraint is very useful: for example, in 1945 when the first atomic bomb to be used in World War II. Before it was dropped in Hiroshima, the press had this information concealed from them and even those trying to gain insight in the plan were not allowed to report it to the public for fear of national safety and the attack's success.









The first important case in which the Supreme Court dealt with Prior Restraint was in Near V. Minnesota. In this case the Supreme Court ruled Prior Restraint to be unconstitutional except within extreme cases, such as things dealing with national security. In this case a local newspaper ran countless stories on Minneapolis's elected officials unmoral behaviors. Though this paper was considered what is now basically a tabloid paper, the court ruled that the government had no power/right to stop their freedom of print.

Though the press won in that case, often the press comes out the defeated. During wartime, restrictions on the press become particularly high. It is somewhat difficult to find examples of when the press is restricted for Prior Restraint because their loss signifies some kind of secrecy which the government is quick to keep from gaining national attention.