One First Amendment issue that has changed over time is newsworthiness. Sensational journalism was first challenged at the end of the nineteenth century and advocates of privacy began to debate the constitutional value of gossip. As the press dug deeper into the lives of American citizens, those caught in the public eye insisted on their “the right to be let alone.” Journalists, however, argued their right to publish content “of public concern or general interest (112).” This would of course mean the published material had to be newsworthy. Major opponents of “yellow journalism” Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis acknowledged this themselves, “the right to privacy does not prohibit any publication of matter which is of public or general interest (122).” William James Sidis was exceptionally gifted intellectually. He could read before age two, spoke several languages, and graduated Harvard at sixteen. The world was amazed at his gifts for math and science at such a young age. People predicted he would one day be “a great mathematician, [and] a famous leader in science (122).” Then, he was arrested …show more content…
He appealed to the Second Circuit, who was sympathetic to all but his claim to privacy. They believed that he was of “legitimate intellectual interest (122).” Based on his status as a well-known child prodigy, the court decided “the public interest in obtaining information becomes dominant over the individual’s desire for privacy (123).” This set the legal standard that supported the press over the individual, provided the individual was a public figure. According to the text, “because the events are newsworthy, it is nearly impossible for a public figure to prevail in a lawsuit alleging disclosure of a private matter