Writers for the mass media in America work without a great number of legal restraints. Yet the legal restraints that do exist are important, and understanding them is a necessary part of the writer’s job. Writers are much more likely to encounter ethical guidelines and restraints. Here, again, knowing the general basis of ethical behavior is an important part of the writer’s work. Can we say anything we want to say, write anything we want to write, broadcast anything and put anything on the web? The answer, of course, is no. While we have a great deal of freedom in this nation, that freedom is not absolute -- even though there have been advocates of an “absolutist” point of view.