Celebrating Excellence in Journalism: Freedom of the Press in America

For more than a century, The New York Public Library has sought to collect and preserve works that demonstrate the democratizing power of intellectual freedom. This spring, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Library is drawing from across its collections to celebrate those who have defended freedom of the press and the people’s right to know.

This display in the McGraw Rotunda of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building shines a spotlight on coverage of the Pentagon Papers in the 1970s, with material drawn from the Library’s extensive New York Times records. The Pentagon Papers, a 47-volume classified Defense Department report, traced U.S. military and diplomatic involvement in Vietnam. After receiving most of its contents, the Times began publishing its Pentagon series, until, for the first time in American history, the U.S. government halted a paper’s publication. A short but contentious legal battle weighed national security against the First Amendment and reaffirmed the primacy of a free press in American society.

Alongside this notable case in modern journalistic history are two foundational texts written by 17th-century English poet John Milton and 18th-century publisher Peter Zenger. Both of their works contested government’s power to regulate the written word and established the philosophical foundations for the First Amendment. Together, these works illustrate the long-standing importance of a free press and its role in upholding the values of democracy.

May 2nd, 2017 - May 21st, 2017 Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, McGraw Rotunda