Zenger

John Peter Zenger was a newspaper publisher in New York. In 1735 he printed criticisms of the royal Governor, William Cosby. Up until then, there had been a longstanding European principle that the media was to be supervised and controlled by the government. Therefore, Cosby had Zenger arrested and tried.

Cosby argued that the media should never be allowed to print negative statements about the government, as it jeopardized the security of the country.

Zenger argued that the press should be independent of the government, and free to print the truth of what the government has done, regardless of the consequences: freedom of the press.

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