A recent study by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation found that nearly half (49 percent) of high school students think newspapers should get government approval of content before publishing stories.

The study also found that nearly one-third of the 100,000 students interviewed think that the First Amendment goes too far in the rights that it guarantees.

The First Amendment guarantees citizens of the United States freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to peacefully assemble and freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances; to some it is thought to be the foundation of this great nation.

The trends found in this study show an underlying problem in the education system, but more importantly in the future of the nation because those students will grow to become leaders and decision makers.

Youth are said to be very perceptive. Perhaps it has become clear to those students surveyed that the United States government no longer stands by the First Amendment and democratic principles that it so proudly wishes to impose upon other nations.

A government that does not meddle with the workings of the press? Not the U.S. government.

Last month columnist Armstrong Williams, who also hosts a TV and radio show called “The Right Side,” was found to have accepted $241,000 from the Bush administration to support the No Child Left Behind Act. Williams’ contract included an agreement to have Education Secretary Rod Paige appear on his show and to encourage other black journalists to do the same.

He managed to convince Steve Harvey to have the education secretary on his show twice.A few weeks later another columnist was discovered to have had a similar agreement, although for a much smaller sum of $21,500, to support the Bush administration’s marriage policies.

Last week a White House correspondent was found to have been entering press conferences under an assumed name to the knowledge of the White House’s press secretary.

The president in a press conference two weeks later called on the reporter to ask questions. The press secretary said President Bush had called on the reporter at random, but the questions he asked raised concern because they suspiciously supported what the White House was trying to convey.All of these incidences should sound an alarm for members of the press, who are already a vehemently hated group of people, but even more so they should alarm the American people.

The Bush administration has touted freedom as one of the main reasons for going to war. We are told about the propaganda being shown nightly on television in Iraq and other countries around the world.

Propaganda in the news is illegal in the United States, but it is slowly seeping in and, judging by the “The Future of the First Amendment” study, it is working its way into the minds of the American youth.

Because I am a future journalist, this article may be seem like my attempt to create job security, but the American press should not be for sale, and there should be no prior restraint (i.e. when the government checks what the press writes before it can be published). However, such a situation does not seem too far distant, especially with slackening support of First Amendment rights amongst today’s youth.

Rebecca Adler can be reached at [email protected]