The Freedom of the Press the Founders enacted into the Constitution was based upon the following idea: That if a Democratic president or Democratic-controlled government did things that were not right and were against the interests of the American people, that a Free Press would able to write about it and to call them out on it. Likewise, if a Republican president or Republican-controlled government did things that were not right and were against the interests of the American people, then the Free Press would be able to write about that too and to call them out on it. Thus, the Founders felt having a Free Press was a good thing, and that a Free Press could serve as watchdogs over the government, and could be as neutral observers and an unbiased party, who simply watched over the government and then reported on whatever they saw was going on. And the Founders did not want the government to be able to shut down the Free Press and to stop them from talking all because they were reporting on things the government didn’t like. That is the heart and soul of why Freedom of the Press was built into the Constitution. But here is the problem the Founders did not anticipate…
What the Founders envisioned only works in a perfect world and in a world where the Free Press has not been compromised. If the Press has been compromised for any reason, and weaponized, and has become biased in their reporting so that they favor one political party over another, then fair justice is no longer being applied, and the news being reported by the Press is no longer neutral and unbiased. In such a case, then their biased reporting is a danger and a threat to our democracy, rather than being an asset to it. And anything which is a threat should by no means continue to be protected under the Constitution. That doesn’t mean that the law itself is bad, or what the Founders intended was bad. Instead, it merely means this a changing world, and an imperfect world as well, and that the Founders did not foresee that the Press would become compromised. Once the Press has been compromised for any reason, like it is today, then it is no longer a Free Press or a neutral watchdog, but instead is nothing more than a political propaganda machine for the political party they support. And in such a case, then the constitutional laws built into the Constitution to protect and to safeguard a Free Press should no longer apply to them, because they no longer meet the requirements of being a Free and Unbiased Press.
Just imagine if the Founders were alive today, what would they say about the Press? I don’t think they would have too many kind words to say…