Media Law and Literacy

     Under the protection of the First Amendment, we as Americans are promised the freedom of speech and expression. Although these freedoms were written in the late 1780’s, they are just as important now as ever. The idea of free expression can theoretically be broken down into eight parts. These are called the Eight Values of Free Expression .  These eight values are as follows: Marketplace of Ideas Participation in Self-Government Stable Change Individual Self-Fulfillment Check on Government Power Promote Tolerance Promote Innovation Protect Dissent      After reflecting on these eight values I realized that I can relate to the value of Participation in Self-Government. When I was 20 I was able to vote in the 2020 Presidential Election. This vote not only allowed me to vote for the next president but also several local positions within my state and county. Before I arrived to fill out my ballot I researched the candidates so that I could make an inf...

     The Supreme Court is the highest federal court in the judicial system. The Supreme Court has nine Justices who serve for life. When a Justice dies, the President chooses a new Justice to take their place. This is all common knowledge about the Supreme Court. Having taken social studies and American history courses throughout grade school and high school, I thought I had a good understanding of how the Supreme Court worked. However, after watching Part 1 and Part 2 of the History Channel's short documentary about the Supreme Court, I realized I still hadn't grasped the full scope of how it really works.      One thing that I never knew was when and how the Supreme Court started. John Marshall was made the first Cheif Justice in 1801. This made him the first person to have the power to deem an act of congress as unconstitutional. Another fact that I did not know was that the justices do not get to pick which cases they hear. They also try and make sure ...

    I have never been the kind of person who regularly checks the news or flips through the newspaper. Most of my news intake comes through my phone. My primary source of news is Youtube . Almost every news station and publisher has a Youtube channel where they can post their stories. I find it helpful that these groups post by story, meaning that I can watch the exact segment that I want to see. Youtube also supports Content Creators who post news on their channels. Keemstar, the host and founder of DramaAlert , has gathered over 5 million subscribers. My personal favorite news source on youtube is from a Content Creator named SirSwag and their monthly news series called This month's news without the bullshit. It is a very nonbias monthly news recap that covers major global events within a given month.  I think I can safely say that social media is a major news intake for most people my age (Millenials and Gen Z). Ranging from MySpace to TikTok we have all seen or hear...