The American Pattern of Freedom of the Press: A Model to Follow?

Abstract

The following discussion paper is an ideal example of this approach. This paper was written by Santiago Sanchez Gonzalez, Professor of Law at the University of Madrid and former Dean of the Faculty of Law at that university, while he was in residence as a Fellow of the Shorenstein Barone Center. He focuses here on freedom of the press in a decidedly and admirably philosophical style, questioning the applicability to the modern economic, political, and technological climate of the American Constitution's preoccupation with negative liberties and the importance of keeping the government at bay. To Professor Sanchez Gonzalez, however, freedom of the press is as much about freedom to as about freedom from, and as much about fostering the conditions for democratic deliberation as about the libertarian goal of keeping the government away from the private press. These goals often clash, however, and his arguments for preferring the former goal to the latter in cases of conflict is decidedly at odds with the traditional American approach. By considering Sanchez Gonzalez's perspective, Americans may see parts of their Constitution that have heretofore escaped them, and others may see that a sensitive reading of the American constitutional experience shows that there are some aspects to be questioned just as there are so many to be admired.