Milan Richardson

Professor Murray
JOMC 492
First Amendment Statement
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." The
aforementioned quote is the first amendment to the United States Constitution. As a journalist, I
live and die by this quote. In many settings, we are taught to speak when spoken to, remain
respectful, never ruffle any feathers with “controversial” topics and most importantly politics and
religion are completely off the table! This amendment protects U.S. citizens right to express
themselves freely. The first amendment was made because at America’s inception the people
thought it important to guarantee the citizens basic rights.
In many ways, the First Amendment applies to me. One being that I am a journalist, an
American citizen and a black woman. My opinion matters and I should be able to express myself
freely and safely; as a citizen protected by the law my expressions should go unbothered. The
first amendment applies to everyone, especially those who are crippled by government systems;
like convicts, underprivileged homes, black men, minority groups, veterans, the list goes on!
Those voices deserve to be heard and as a journalist, I intend on getting that done.
Journalists are the gatekeepers between the government and other citizens. People rely on
us to tell the truth so we can better aid in their voices and opinions being heard. Although the
first amendment promises not to limit my speech, and expression it does not protect my speech if
it is in fact, libelous or obscene. As a student, I have learned to quail my enraged thoughts and
transform them into educated opinions so I can better express myself. As an out of state student,
I am bombarded with policies I do not agree with, and instead of cursing the university out
publicly on my twitter I have learned to channel that as a journalist into a professional concern
for not only myself but other out of state students. I began to attend town hall meetings, Student
Government Association Full Body Meetings and Chancellor forums, immersing myself
completely in knowledge before I spew misguided hatred towards an innocent third party social
media page. After fully understanding the new regulations I would then express myself freely on
my social media so that my followers had a reputable source of information.
The first amendment always rears its head in my career. Being a content creator for an
online magazine I have complete creative control of the stories I produce. I use my first
amendment right to express my opinions on all things music and media in the magazine, my
pieces are not under prior constraint. The things I write about are a true reflection of my
personality. As well as on my YouTube page, my personality is what makes me Milan, I legally
abide by the first amendment by promising not to write or broadcast anything in regards to taking
out the President or anything obscene and ridiculous like that but I never compromise myself,
ever!