New book explores efforts to restrict Freedom of the Press in America

In 1964, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling aimed at ensuring a vigorous, free press in America. The case was  New York Times Company vs. Sullivan and it made it harder for public officials to sue news outlets for libel.

Over the years, the court expanded that idea to other public figures — celebrities, business leaders, and even everyday people made prominent by circumstances. The protection enabled robust coverage of everything from the civil rights movement to government corruption. For decades, this was a relatively rare area of consensus in American politics, but that is not true anymore.

There is a concerted campaign among right wing politicians to overturn the Sullivan precedent, and in so doing weaken the American press. All this is the subject of a new book by David Enrich. He is the author of  “Murder The Truth: Fear, The First Amendment, And A Secret Campaign To Protect The Powerful" and an investigations editor at the New York Times. Enrich joins the program today.

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David Enrich  
Author, "Murder The Truth: Fear, The First Amendment, And A Secret Campaign To Protect The Powerful"
Business Investigations Editor, The New York Times