Lies are not covered in the freedom of speach laws.
That freedom is protection from government shutting you up not people who out your lies.
There should be no place for lies in the media.
Of course lies are covered. What Bill of Rights are you reading?
I didnt make myself very clear , I ment in the media.
The government can not make any law infringing the speech rights of the individual.
We do have laws against lying in the media.
They get wettled in courts every day.
The media doesnt have a right to lie even if Fox fought in court to get it and won.
I think you mean libel and slander. These are not particularly First Amendment things. If I say that I think that Newt Gingrich or Tip O'Neal are lying bastards who BBQ children and steal from orphans because of their policy decisions, that's protected because they are public figures. It's also only what I think. If I say I saw them cooking children over flames, that's a different thing.
If they are on the floor of the Senate or in the Well of House, anything they say is protected so they can answer me there with impunity.
If you say the same about me or write it, that's actionable. So it is with the media.
Most media outlets are very careful to attribute what they say especially if it's damning. When you listen, you will always hear, "in a report from" or "according to" or "in his written statement to reporters, the AP reports that he said".
If they report what a certain source said, they are not reporting that the event happened or that words were said. They are reporting that someone said that the event happened or that someone said the words were said.
This is a huge difference in a court of law.
That's the news.
Now, opinion is an entirely different thing. Bill O'Rieley or Kieth Oberman can clearly label what they are saying in their shows to be opinion and all bets are off. Beck, too. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. You probably think that I'm entitled to yours and I certainly think that you are entitled to mine.
The "Market place of ideas" entitles us all to hold and express opinions. It is implied by the First Amendment and specified in succeeding court decisions. Like it or not, Bill Mahr, Micheal Moore, Rush Limbaugh and all the rest can spew their particualr view point with as much bias as they can spin in and they are doing the work that the founders planned.
Diverse opinion stated by those who have the time to think about it gives those of us who work for a living a quick method to try on an opinion to see if it fits.