This meant that the new government had to respect peoples right to free speech and newspapers right to publish freely. The American people now had a greater right to free speech than many people in other places.
The countries of Europe followed. Many countries in Europe, if they had not already, developed laws protecting press freedom in the 19th and 20th centuries. By the late 1800s, Germany, France and other major European countries had laws protecting freedom of speech.
By the year 1900 in Britain, Parliament, the British law-making body, had named the press the Fourth Estate. The other three estates were the clergy, or religious leaders; the nobility, the upper classes of British society; and the commons, or common people. Calling the press the Fourth Estate was a way of recognizing its influence upon peoples lives. （Journalism is still sometimes referred to as the Fourth Estate. ）
Today, media in English-speaking western countries have a high degree of freedom to publish and broadcast the news. This freedom has grown out of protections in law for the press and out of peoples belief that the press should be free of government control. An Assumption Based on History
From this history, it is safe to assume that most people in the United States and most western countries believe everyone has the right to free speech. Many believe that the press should also be able to publish what it wants; again, in many countries, the idea is so important that it is guaranteed under law.
This idea of a free, independent press influences the content and style of English-language news in America. People in western countries generally accept the idea that free speech includes the right to discuss issues and ideas that are controversial or unpopular.
This contributes to a culture in which media discuss subjects that are often uncomfortable or unpleasant, both for local communities and the larger society.
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