Electronic Library of Scientific Literature
Electronic Library of Scientific Literature
Volume 39 / No. 2 / 1996
Lubos Sefcak
Already the initial period of the history of the American press - from its birth in 1690 till the adoption of the Constitution of the United States with the Bill of Rights - was a century when the fight to establish the freedom of speech and freedom of the press was closely connected with the fight for the national independence. Although there was an example - the Constitution of the State Virginia, the definition of constitutional rights and freedoms was not created easy. The competition between the party press often did not stop at anybody or anything. The first government's definition of the freedom of the press was very narrow. Lastly, the deep-rooted tradition of liberalism and democracy prevailed. The legal limits of the freedom of speech and freedom of the press were gradually clarified and confirmed. These limits are based mainly on the old English libel law and their operative interpretation is entrusted to the courts. There is a considerable difference between the Anglo-Saxon tradition and practice and European continental media law, mainly based on the detailed legislation. Nevertheless, the period of the birth and development of the freedom of speech and freedom of the press provide us with interesting and instructive knowledge. This knowledge is extremely important in present time when, after the November 1989, in the very short period of the history the new democratic regime together with the new media legislation has been established.
pp. 89–98
Ludovit Sramek
The article presents some research data on the reading of the Slovak dailies. These data were brought by the surveys which have been carried out by the Institute of Journalism and by other research organizations. The author deals mainly with methodological and methodical issues of these surveys. He encourages the discussion about the research methods and the ways by which the research data are considered. Consequently, more attention should be paid to these issues also in the training of journalists who frequently use the data on the reading of the press.
pp. 105–110