This is a repost from a year or so ago  that seems to still be relevant.
* Original Area: RTKBA
* Original From: Andy Petty
           NEW, IMPROVED THEORY OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT
The Founding Fathers of the United States of America responded to the
threat of governmental suppression of information by including in the
Bill of Rights a guarantee of freedom of the press.
This guarantee is widely misconstrued as providing a basis for the right
of the media to publish anything they wish.  Nothing could be farther
from the truth; in fact, the only rights conveyed by the First Amendment
pertain to the COLLECTIVE rights of society to freely gain access to
information.  This clearly means that it is only the GOVERNMENT which has
the right to a free press.  While this idea may seem strange at first,
just remember that the Second Amendment, which also contains the phrase
"the people", has been shown, by enlightened modern commentators, to
refer to the State and not the people.
The dangers of an unrestrained people's press are clear.  No one can
reasonably argue with the position that irresponsible reporting of
information can cause untold damage to people.  Lawsuits, hurt feelings,
incorrect thinking - all sorts of terrible consequences can come about
because some editor somewhere thought he had the right to print or
broadcast something, with no attention to the consequences.  For example,
a newspaper editor might allow the printing of a story that a particular
government employee misappropriated money or equipment or was, possibly,
taking bribes.  This kind of irresponsible action can damage reputations,
impair faith in government and threaten the national security.
When the Founding Fathers came forth with the Constitution and the Bill
of Rights, the "media" was only a small number of printing presses which
required manual typesetting.  The circulation of the newspapers of the
day was very small, compared to the mass media markets we have today.
Obviously, then, when the Founding Fathers guaranteed the right of the
State to a free press, they were thinking in terms of the technology of
the day.  Now, with microwave transmission linking orbital satellites to
automatic printing presses, the potential for abuse of the First
Amendment has mushroomed to potentially catastrophic proportions.
No reasonable person will tolerate this danger to the State.  We
therefore call for an immediate and complete ban on all automatic and
semi-automatic instruments which could be used, or which could be
modified for such use, for the distribution of non-government media
communications.  We specifically demand limitations on photocopy machines
which are capable of accepting magazines holding more than ten sheets of
paper.
The government must be allowed to assume its intended role as the primary
provider of information, as guaranteed it by the Bill of Rights.  While
we in no way want to infringe upon the individual's right to engage in
his or her own business of working in a privately owned media operation
(for example, by owning or working for a newspaper or radio/television
station), we insist that reasonable restrictions be applied in order to
assure that the constitutional right of the state to a free press be
protected.
Along these lines, we insist upon requiring that all articles,
editorials, or news items be withheld from release for a 15-day waiting
period.  During this length of time, the material would be submitted to
the appropriate authorities, preferably ones who have been appointed and
are thus not subject to the fickle "will of the people", for examination
and if necessary, corrections.  The author of the material will be
investigated; a thorough background check will be conducted to determine
moral fitness, the existence of any perjury convictions, and whether he
or she enjoys the goodwill of his community.
Subscribers to privately-owned newspapers and cable franchise operations
will be registered with a newly created "Ministry of Press Freedom" and
charged a reasonable fee designed to fund the requisite background check,
fingerprinting, and overall administrative costs.  Such fees would be set
at $250.00 per subscription with bi-annual renewal.  Newspaper and cable
franchise operators would be required to obtain from prospective
customers a completed form attesting to the individual's fitness to
receive private media communications.
While the foregoing measures are very mild, we believe that they provide
a good first step towards insuring the proper application of the true
intent of the First Amendment.  Later, firmer and more realistic measures
can be adopted to further limit the threat to the State engendered by a
misconception about the real nature of "Freedom of the Press".
--- Maximus/2 3.01
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