Is Censorship Good or Bad for the Society - Outline Example

Outline Introduction Censorship refers to the limitation of visual and audio content through the means of rules and regulations. Censorship leads to infringement of first amendment right of freedom of speech, congress uses censorship to make unnecessary rules, censorship of war images lead to loss of importance of war, loss of credibility and citizen’s right to know. Those in the favor of censorship state that it does not violate first amendment, it is demanded by the viewers, and if war images are not censored it was lead to compromise of troops location. Body Those not in the favor of censorship state: Leads to infringement of first amendment right of freedom of speech It assists congress in making unnecessary rules. Lead to loss of importance of war. It leads to loss of credibility. Leads to infringement upon citizen’s right to know. Those who are in the favor of censorship state: It does not violate first amendment. The viewers demand it. If war images are not censored it was lead to compromise of troops location. Conclusion Censorship is both beneficial and disadvantageous but it should be applied for certain reasons and should be avoided for others. Censorship Introduction Censorship is a very old and hotly debated issue; it has recently gained excessive attention because of certain events such as exposing visuals of Janet Jackson and the limited information that is showed by media regarding the Iraq War. Several laws in media industry have been created regarding the issue of censorship and the need for such laws has been highly demanded. On the other hand, those not in the favor of censorship state that censorship has no importance and complete viewership should be accepted by law and media. The debate regarding the question of whether censorship is good or bad for the interest of the public is viewed from several angles. Those who oppose censorship state that it violates constitutional rights. Body Those who are against censorship state that censorship is an act that violates the First Amendment right of freedom of conversation and they are against censorship on general grounds. The national coalition against censorship believes that those nations are said to be experiencing healthy democracy that allow the people to share their views and communicate with each other freely (Foerstel 155). The coalition further stated that a society that is based on pluralist grounds can never agree on any issue and will have a difference of opinion and this difference of opinion is necessary to achieve creativity and growth that is intellectual in nature. This means that the coalition believes that one of the most important rights that an individual has is the freedom of communication and it is necessary to develop a healthy democracy. One of the concerns related to the infringing of the right to freedom of speech is that it will result in chilling effect. Chilling effect is defined as a discouragement of conducting a completely lawful act due to fear of punishment (Margolis 103). Julie Hilden states that reactions that resulted due to the exposure and scandal of Janet Jackson allow the Congress to pass laws and regulations that are not necessary for the society (as cited in Tavani, 296). She even stated that censorship was assumed to be necessary by the Congress even if it infringes upon the right of freedom of speech and she even figured out that Congress is blaming - and imposing laws of censorship on - those parties that were not even directly or indirectly involved in the scandal. Powell has stated that he had no problems in applying liability and holding broadcasters responsible even if they were not the perpetrators of the crime (Minkin 123). Those who are in favor of censorship state that Constitution can be differently interpreted depending upon the case being argued. They even state that interpretation of freedom of speech under the First Amendment is not as easy to understand as it might seem. Those in support of censorship even believe that when Constitution is analyzed extensively, contradictions may appear and they even state that people are using Constitution to obtain several kinds of civil liberties. Eugene Volokh stated that as the 1st Amendment was being developed, it was unclear whether the Constitution was applicable to punishing criminals for using speech that was politically incorrect in nature (as cited in Hajdin, 242). Pro-censorship debaters believe that it was only applicable to old limitations such as application of censorship before the publication was made public. Supporters of censorship even believe that censorship of news is necessary for the protection of US war troops that are fighting in other nations. This is true because by censorship the government does not only protect American army individuals from information that has been leaked, but they even protect viewers from witnessing emotionally challenging events. The issue of restricting images and information from public viewership was taken up by President Bush as he reinforced a policy that was created during the year 1991. According to this policy, coffins of American soldiers covered with American flag were not to be displayed on news media (Messaris 56). According to a survey conducted in the University of the State of Louisiana, the students were in support of the action taken by President Bush (Escobar 552). The main reason due to which Bush was supported by students is that students did not want to gain access or did not need to view such images. This view was backed by David Perlmutter as he stated that such images undermine the efforts made by the US army during war (as cited in Golan, 280). Those who support the clause of censoring images of troops and live coverage of US army officials state that this is necessary for the safety and security of information of location of army officials. Incidences where lack of censorship has resulted in negative consequences for army officials have occurred in the past. For example the information about the troops of Gerald Revera was leaked which resulted in negative consequences for the troops (Cochran 497). Clyde Long stated that terrorist groups and opposing forces have complete access to news media and other forms of media. Criticizers of censorship state that it is the right of the public to know the truth and the real happenings that are taking place, and coverage of war should not be stopped. Those in favor even state that if the images of dead soldiers and caskets covered with American flags are not shown, the American citizens would not be able to realize the importance of war and the importance of the efforts of their soldiers who are fighting for their security. Another reason due to which censorship of images in the media is not favorable is that information without the backing of visual media is not considered credible. Due to this news media and other media agencies have to use pictures to make credible statements. Conclusion Censorship is both good and bad for the society. However, in our view, it is mostly harmful because it leads to violation of first amendment right of freedom of speech; also, when images are censored, the importance and credibility of information is compromised, and there have been instances where censorship has been used to hold responsible those who were not even involved in the issue. Works Cited Cochran, Clarke E.. American Public Policy: An Introduction. 10th ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Escobar, Luis A.. "A Review of Accelerated Test Models." Cornell University Library. N.p., 2 Aug. 2007. Web. 13 Dec. 2012. . Foerstel, Herbert N.. Free expression and censorship in America: an encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1997. Print. Golan, Guy J., Thomas Johnson, and Wayne Wanta. International Media Communication in a Global Age. New York: Routledge, 2010. Print. Hajdin, Mane. The Law of Sexual Harassment: A Critique. Selinsgrove: Susquehanna University Press ;, 2002. Print. Margolis, Michael. Free Expression, Public Support, and Censorship: Examining Government's Role in the Arts in Canada and the United States. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America ;, 1994. Print. Messaris, Paul, and Lee Humphreys. Digital Media: Transformations in Human Communication. New York: Peter Lang, 2006. Print. Minkin, Barry Howard. Ten Great Lies That Threaten Western Civilization. San Jose, CA: In-Sight Press, 2007. Print. Tavani, Herman T.. Ethics and Technology: Controversies, Questions, and Strategies for Ethical Computing. 3rd ed. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2011. Print. Read More