Blog #4 - The Invension of The Newspaper

The History of the Newspaper

 The newspaper goes back to the Romans in 59 BCE; which was created by the name of Acta Diurna. Even though there are no copies today, it is still widely believed they published daily chronicles about gossip, assemblies, and births/deaths. To publish the newspaper, they hand carve the writing on a piece of stone and place it in a populated city for the public to see. 

Then later in 1566, another newspaper appeared in Venice, Italy. It was a handwritten gazette again discussing information about politics and military conflicts. Since, there was still the absence of printing-press technology. It was harder to create daily copies of the newspaper and limited the amount of copies shared.

It wasn't till 1609, that the Gutenberg's Press founded by Johanne Gutenberg, created the first weekly newspapers. At the start of production of the newspaper, they had to be careful to not share their location to avoid getting prosecuted by the government. Even though their approximate location could be identified because it was written in German. These concerns did not last and the papers became very successful and spread throughout Europe. Soon it became the heart of the newspaper, printing in all languages like Dutch, French, Italian, German, then later English. The newspapers were created individually and arranged backward by hand. Then, flattened down, inked by hand, and pressed down by a big lever that would apply force to create the impression. Early newspapers used two major formats: Dutch-style corantos (two- to four-page paper) and German-style pamphlets (8- to 24-page paper). As popularity grew, publishers switched to the larger German style.

Eventually, the government did take control of the papers, so publications were regulated. They could not report on the news or local events. But when the civil war broke out in England in 1641, a gentleman named Oliver Cromwell and the Parliament issued threats against King Charles I to be able to cover these major events happening in England. Finally, the newspapers were free from government control, and the citizens got to understand the power of the free press. Making it easy to issue more copies and run advertisements through the newspaper. 

Fast forwarding to 1690, when newspapers finally came to the American colonies by the name of Benjamin Harris. Before coming to America, he was a newspaper editor in England. The two articles he printed were controversial and were not a big hit. It wasn't till 14 years later, till the next American newspaper was made called the Boston News-Letter. Then followed by The Boston Gazette and American Weekly Mercury in Philadelphia 15 years later. 

Impact of the Newspaper

During the American Revolution, newspapers were the only form of communication colonies had with one another. Newspapers grew increasingly popular by helping keep the colonies informed and developing a new concept of a free press to create a national identity.   

Finally, in 1791, the United States created the First Amendment as part of the Bill of Rights, guaranteeing freedom of press and speech. However, in 1798, Congress passed the Sedition Act, punishing individuals for writing, printing, uttering, or publishing false, scandalous, and malicious writing against the government. Thomas Jefferson allowed the Act to lapse, claiming it was an experiment to demonstrate the falsehood of the pretext that freedom of the press is incompatible with orderly government. This free-press experiment has continued to this day, demonstrating the falsehood of the pretext that freedom of the press is incompatible with orderly government.

As the nation gained more independence, the newspapers played a crucial role in defining national identities by promoting new names, symbols, and patriotism. Newspapers have been responsible for uniting the country together by uncovering many stories about history, politics, current events, and many more. They have become a necessity for many Americans to read the newspaper and stay current on what is happening in the world. Unfortunately, in today's time, newspapers have taken a hard hit since everyone uses technology to get news and much more information the newspaper offers. The rapid decline of local newspapers in 2023 is expected to result in the U.S. losing one-third of its 2005-2005 newspapers by the end of 2023 as originally predicted. The communities that are losing local newspapers sometimes might not get a replacement like online. For Americans who can't afford the technology to learn about current events and can't get a newspaper, how will they be able to learn about what is happening in the world today?

Blog # 3 - Individual Self-Fulfillment

 While I was reading and reflecting on the eight values of free expression, the one value that struck me the most was number four: Individual Self-Fulfillment. The article says, "Free speech enables individuals to express themselves and thereby create their own identity - and, in the process perhaps, find kindred spirits. Freedom of speech thus becomes an aspect of human dignity, human agency, and autonomy." This value I believe is used a lot in today's society because I see it everywhere I go, through peers and the internet where I feel a lot of people use their First Amendment right to say things they believe in. 

The First Amendment - freedom of speech is so important in today's society. It allows us to express who we are as an individual, but also allows other people the opportunity to get to know our beliefs as well. If there was no First Amendment, the government would be controlling everything we say and believe, which in other words is compelled affirmation. The U.S. Constitution gives the government enough power to act on a national level, but not too much power that our rights would be at risk. 

Individual Self-Fulfillment value talks about creating your own identity. Therefore, by creating your own identity and expressing your beliefs, you can find people with similar beliefs/interests. It's a good way to build relationships and make friends. If I wasn't able to express my beliefs and opinions or practice things I am interested in, I probably wouldn't have the opportunity to make the connections I have today. Through the practice of religion, I study, I have had many opportunities to do amazing work through God. By making so many amazing connections with lots of different people. Many of my peers I met through the religion I practice, and many I am still close with today. I have gone to the same church since I was a little girl, everyone there knows me and it's such a welcoming community. Another amazing opportunity I have had through my church is we have traveled to Belize and Haiti over the past few years. I had amazing experiences on both trips and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to help others in need.

 I see people expressing themselves every day, whether it's through social media, how they dress, or joining clubs they are interested in. I go onto Instagram at least once a day and see people sharing ideas about politics or talking about ways to improve their health. For example, my sister is a doula (which is basically someone who helps a mother emotionally and physically before, during, and after childbirth). She has an Instagram page talking about everything a mother should know about childbirth, ways to improve your comfort through pregnancy, and so many other things. The First Amendment gives her the right to talk about what she believes in and she believes that a doula helps mothers have a better pregnancy experience. 

Lastly, "Freedom of speech thus becomes an aspect of human dignity, human agency, and autonomy." (From the last sentence in the article above). The meaning behind this sentence is "human agency refers to the capability of an individual to control her destiny and make choices to fulfill goals set autonomously. Human dignity is associated with the absence of feelings of shame and humiliation, and is ultimately related to social inclusion." I got this quote from ScienceDirect because I thought they explained this perfectly. But this is why this value feels most personal to me because I can have any goals I want, without feeling ashamed of myself for having them. I can become the woman I want to be and express myself in any way I want because of the First Amendment. It gives any woman the opportunity to be who they are and create their own dynasty without being shunned which I think is truly amazing.  

Blog #2 - U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest court system in the federal judiciary in the United States. Their job is to protect civil rights by denying laws that violate the Constitution. Four out of the nine Justices have to vote for the case for a case to be accepted. They typically stay on the board of Justices for about 16 years after being appointed by the president of the United States. The Supreme Court also sets the limit on other governments so the higher majorities don't pass laws that could affect the lower minorities negatively. 

While watching the two videos, I learned more about the process of what the Justices have to go through in deciding a law. Newly arrived petitions with written arguments go to the Justice chambers once a week. In each of their chambers, there is a small staff of secretaries and law clerks who have their own responsibilities. Then the Justices meet weekly to choose which cases are accepted and denied. From there the issue is taken through an oral argument in the courtroom. Talking with the attorney for about 30 minutes, along with the nine Justices asking questions. After the oral argument, they head to the conference room where it's only the nine justices discussing whether to vote on a case. After, one of the Justices on the majority side has to write an opinion, explaining the legal reasons for the decision. This could take up to four weeks just writing a draft. The draft goes to the nine justices and could be rewritten many more times. They are prepared to have the final opinion done and ready to release to the audience by late June.    

A few key takeaways from the videos are the confirmation process through the Judicial System is the most important process. Once confirmed they are primarily responsible to the law. The public no longer has a direct ability to influence the decision through the ballot. Meaning the Supreme Court has the final say in creating a new law for the people. Thinking about whether the petition is constitutional.  Another key takeaway Justice O'Connor talked about was no matter who the person is, whether is a high authority person or a prisoner writing a petition. It gets the same consideration as all the other ones as well. Which I believe is incredible with the amount of people that live in the United States. Everyone has an equal opportunity to make a difference in our world. Overall, the court tries to play it straight, not picking political sides or views. But solely thinking about whether it is constitutional. 

Something that stood out to me the most was the amount of cases to court receives. They receive about 100 cases per week. They have to go through them and the court only selects a few of them for further consideration. By the end of the year, they would have selected about 100 cases. I did some further research myself on how they keep track of all the cases they accept. According to the Supreme Court procedures, there is a "cert pool" where they keep track of all the petitions. Dividing the work among the law clerks that write up recommendations and notes they present to the Justices.   

Lastly, after doing research and watching the two videos, I didn't realize how much process has gone into deciding new laws. The amount of pressure and work on deciding on problems. Something that was mentioned in the video was the Supreme Court has to wait for problems to come to them. They can't just decide to fix this problem because they want to. They have to wait for the people's problems to come to them. Unlike other governments or even the President who could choose which problem to work through and fix. Overall, though the amount of power the Supreme Court has it's amazing, and with out them, we wouldn't have the most freedom country in the world. 

Blog #1 - News Sources

 Although I believe it's important to stay current on current events, I find it interesting to learn about what's happening today. But it also terrifies me most of the time on what's happening in our world. It gives me lots of anxiety and most of the time I try to stay clear of watching the news. From past experience, I grew up in a household where I would wake up in the morning hearing my dad yelling at the news channel on TV. He always had his personal beliefs and made sure everyone knew about them. So, the news and current events weren't my favorite things to watch or learn about. But if I were to learn more about current events and what’s going on in today's world, here are my top five news sources:

1. Fox News is one of my top news sources to read and listen to about current events. I grew up listening to Fox News and trust the information presented to the channel. It's nice because along with having the news articles of different events they also have videos of their speakers talking about the events. So if I don't have time to read about the current event, I will listen to the video. Another reason why Fox News is my top source is because they offer a wide range of differnent categories as well like, beauty, sports, and lifestyle. 

2. Instagram is one of my main go-to's for looking at current events and what is happening around the world because I follow Fox News on Instagram. They will post a picture with a leading caption and if it's something I am interested in, I will go to Fox News to learn more about the event. Instagram also has a wide range of different people with their own opinions on current events. It's interesting learning their side of the issue and where they are coming from. I also follow tons of different sports channels that help me stay up to date on my favorite sports teams. Instagram is a great source of news because it shows a general idea of what's happening by posting a picture with a caption of the overall issue. But if you would want to learn more in depth about the issue I would then turn to a news channel.  

3. Pardon My Take is my favorite podcast to listen to when I want to learn more about what is happening in our sports industry. It's hosted by Big Cat and PFT; their commentary is so funny to listen to and they give great input on sports intakes. It's a great source to listen to when you're driving to work or walking to and from class. It's nice because they are a podcast and you don't have to read anything. It's one of the top-ranked sports podcasts through Apple podcast and Spotify. They are typically between 90-120 minutes, so they are a bit long but I definitely recommend their podcast if you are into sports like I am. 

4. TikTok is a great platform to get insights on what is happening in today's world because sometimes I have a short attention span. This is basically what TikTok is for, it gives short clips of all kinds of different videos and only about 60-second videos each. News and current events pop up on my feed a good amount of times, and it's nice because they will be accounts from the direct news channel or videos of different people's perspectives on the event. Again it's nice because the videos are not long but instead of reading an article that could take a few minutes. Watching a short clip will give you almost the exact information a news article would. 

5. Peers is finally the last source that I would go to for current events. This could include my classmates, family, or friends. Not saying my fellow peers is a bad source because I like talking about the news and understanding their point of view. I think peers are a good source because you could have a conversation with them on why they are thinking that way, and ask them questions. You get to have that face-to-face connection which is very helpful when trying to understand things better.