ABSTRACT
The first amendment guarantees a free press but not a fair press. The Supreme Court’s most recent decisions on two first amendment is sues, access to the press and libel, underscore the inability of legal in stitutions to resolve this dilemma. In Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo1 and Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.,2 members of the Court suggested a press council, an independent arbitration board, as a means of resolving free press-fair press conflicts. Two major press councils are now functioning in the United States, the Minnesota Press Council and the National News Council. An examination of their pro cedures and decisions demonstrates that the press council mechanism can foster a fair and responsible press while upholding the first amend ment’s guarantee of a free press.
