In Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia (1980) 448 U.S. 555, the court held that "the right to attend criminal trials is implicit in the guarantees of the First Amendment" because "without the freedom to attend such trials, which people have exercised for centuries, important aspects of freedom of speech and 'of the press could be eviscerated.'" (Id. at p. 580) The court said that this right encompassed both a "'right of access'" and a "'right to gather information,'" and explained that the media's right is no less important than that of the general public. (Richmond Newspapers, at pp. 576-577 & fn. 12.)