The media is a force that greatly influences the people of our country. In the United States Bill of Rights under the First Amendment, the abridging of the press is prohibited. Because of this, people expect to be informed with the most accurate and truthful information. Media censorship is not only unconstitutional but is so because it is detrimental to the people. Media censorship wrongfully manipulates the opinions and knowledge of the US population.
             Censorship is the control of the material to which people are exposed. When feeling endangered by free expression, a government may turn to censorship to protect its image and beliefs. This may protect the government's image and beliefs, but it does not protect the body it governs and is a devious method of confronting an issue. It was said by former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart that "The publishing business is, in short, the only organized private business that is given explicit constitutional protection." This was a necessary measure taken by our nation's founding fathers (questia.com). The press reports on and keeps the government in check, and therefore must be protected from the government. Many an array of material can be censored in the press: mistakes by the government or one of its departments, gruesome details or images of war and dire situations, and often the point of view from foreign countries. Censoring these details defeats the very purpose of the media, as its purpose is to keep the public informed. If the press is informing the public, as their duty,
             they should be doing so both diligently and thoroughly. Censorship may be exercised by formal methods when government officials follow the law to control free expression or informal methods when censorship occurs when no specific law covers an offense (Beth 258).
             As stated in Green Day's song "American Idiot," our country is indeed controlled by the words of the press. The opinions stated in the media beco...