McGeorge Law Review Volume 23 | Issue 2 Article 4 1-2-1991 First Amendment on the Battlefield: A Constitutional Analysis of Press Access to Military Operations in Grenada, Panama and the Persian Gulf, The David A. Frenznick University of the Pacific; cGeM orge School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/mlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation David A. Frenznick, First Amendment on the Battlefield: A Constitutional Analysis of Press Access to Military Operations in Grenada, Panama and the Persian Gulf, The, 23 Pac. L. J. 315 (1992). Available at: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/mlr/vol23/iss2/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals and Law Reviews at Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in McGeorge Law Review by an authorized editor of Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The First Amendment on the Battlefield: A Constitutional Analysis of Press Access to Military Operations in Grenada, Panama and the Persian Gulf David A. Frenznick" Freedom of the press means freedom to gather news, write it, publish it, and circulate it. When any one of these integral operations is interdicted, freedom of the press becomes a river without water.1 This Article addresses the rights of the press and the public under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution to demand access to American military operations. Part I of this Article examines the history of the war correspondent beginning with the American Revolution, with primary emphasis on the Vietnam War, the invasion of Grenada, the invasion of Panama, and the Persian Gulf War.' Part I[ discusses several First Amendment issues arising in the context of the battlefield, with primary focus on the doctrine of prior restraint, the right of the public to receive information, and the developing right of media * Member, Law Firm of Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Bimey, Sacramento, California.