INTRODUCTION
NCH TEXT ARGUMENT MODEL
s selection is an example of
argument, a type of writing
n which an author states and
defends a position on a topic.
This is the type of writing you will
develop in the Performance-Based
Assessment at the end of the unit.
As you read, look at the way the
writer builds a case. Mark the text
to answer this question: What
is the writer's position, and how
does he or she support it?
Freedom of the Press?
NOTES
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258 UNIT 3 WHAT MATTERS
STOP
The
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives
newspapers, magazines, and other publications the right
to print whatever they see fit, without interference from the
government. The framers of the Constitution felt that a free press
is vital to a democratic society.
This important idea breaks down when schools are involved.
As it turns out, there is a difference between "free press" and high
school newspapers.
The difference is technical. The First Amendment prevents the
government from censoring the press. However, private publishers
can censor whatever they want/Since schools and school districts
pay the student newspaper's publication costs, they are private
publishers. This means that they can edit information as they see
fit. They can even refuse to publish some articles.
This is a tough lesson for budding journalists, some of whom
have challenged the restrictions. One case even made it to the
Supreme Court, in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier.
Here are the facts. In 1983, students at Hazelwood High,
a public high school near St. Louis, Missouri, saw two pages
missing from their school newspaper, The Spectrum. They found
out that the principal, Robert Reynolds, had removed two of the
articles after finding them unfit for publication. One article, about
teen pregnancy, contained interviews with pregnant students
whose names were changed; the other article dealt with divorce.
Principal Reynolds said the pregnancy article was not
appropriate for a high school audience. He was also concerned
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