Workplace freedom of expression: A case for the broadcast newsroom employee

Abstract

The broadcast newsroom is unique among American workplaces. While assuming the role of the nation's primary information provider, it is also in the position of being a public trust. Broadcast licensees are regulated so they will perform in the public interest. Because of this unrivaled position, there may be no better “meeting place”; for the freedom of expression principles that are at the foundation of the First Amendment and those that apply to the workplace. This article suggests that broadcast newsroom managers should consider adopting a philosophy which not only recognizes, but embraces, workplace freedom of expression. Doing so enhances both the opportunities for the personal growth of the journalists who inhabit broadcast newsrooms as well as the likelihood that the departments can better position themselves to serve the public interest by meeting the challenges which confront them today. This issue is explored by using freedom of expression theories and scholarship as a starting point, including an examination of some of their philosophical underpinnings. The article then demonstrates how these various perspectives can apply to the workplace in general, and the broadcast newsroom in particular.