When we discuss the media, we must return to its original state, the newspaper. For it was the News and its authors who moved forward and enabled the freedoms of today's journalism on all fronts, from Twitter accounts to daily gazettes, all must mark a unique event in the evolution of the media as it relates to politics and everything that shapes it. Moving forward in media history, we began to see rapid expansion around 1990. With over 50% of all American households having access to cable television, newspapers in every city and town, as well as main press centers, reach more than ever. Then the introduction of the Internet; nothing would ever be the same again. The year was 1734 and America saw the incarceration of John Peter Zenger, publisher of the NEW YORK Weekly Journal, for publishing articles ridiculing Governor Cosby of New York. Cosby accused Zenger of seditious libel. The seditious libel law stated that the greater the truth, the greater the libel, which meant that if the articles were true, they would of course undermine the authority of the governor. America's most prominent lawyer and founder, Andrew Hamilton, represented Zenger. Hamilton justified his client being acquitted. He based his reasoning on what Zenger had published about the governor that was in fact true. Hamilton convinced the jury to find him not guilty. Later, "A Brief Account of the Case and Trial of John Peter Zenger", written by Hamilton, was published anonymously in Zenger's article. The Brief Narrative argued that newspapers should be free to criticize the government as long as what they wrote was true. The article helped shape the political culture that led to the Revolutionary War and the subsequent adoption of the Bill of Rights. Regardless of how you chose to view the incident, I'm sure the media continually influenced your opinion of the vote as well as Bush himself. In conclusion, who is watching the watchdogs, the journalists who are now trying to shape our moral and social, political standards? any opinions? When asked if they are too powerful, I say yes, although regulated by the powerful Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Communications Act of 1934, it is ultimately we, the consumer, who must assume some responsibility. Without our oversight, the media could not have as much influence as it does today. For too long we, the American people, have accepted what the media does. Unquestionably, we have become accustomed to the way the press does things, allowing it to become too powerful. Works Cited Chapter 7, Bridges to Democracy and PBS Milestones in the History of Media and Politics