Floyd Abrams Quotes

There is no higher claim to journalistic integrity than going to jail to protect a source.

The job of the press is to encourage debate, not to supply the public with information.

I think documentary filmmakers need as much protection as possible under journalist's privilege. How else is the public to know what is going on?

I happen to believe that any legitimate news organization in the world would do that interview. And if the United States is going to be a proponent of a free press, it has to walk the walk.

We don't go into journalism to be popular. It is our job to seek the truth and put constant pressure on our leaders until we get answers.

I would never let myself knock out a journalist.

The most important responsibility we have as journalists is to question those who are in power. I honestly believe that.

We have to protect all journalists, and journalists have to be allowed to do their jobs.

I thought that was the crown jewel of the reporter's resume - to actually go to jail protecting a source.

It is crazy to have Judith Miller in jail.

Holding our own government to account for the use of its power is, in my view, the highest mission of a U.S. news organization.

In hindsight, Watergate was a curse as well as a blessing for American journalism. The courageous reporting of the 'Post' and the 'New York Times' - coupled with the favourable Supreme Court rulings on publication of the Pentagon Papers - were landmarks for the interpretation of First Amendment rights and the freedom of the press.

Were this not Texas, were there not a state where there were no protections at all and where the law was clear on that, I think CBS and Mary Mapes and Dan Rather and all of us had a very good chance of winning. So this is an ongoing battle about an issue of principle.

It's hardly news that the Obama administration is intensely and, in many respects, unprecedentedly hostile toward the news-gathering process.

The media does play a vital role in our democracy, and if we cannot depend on journalistic ethics, the nation's in trouble.

Well, thank God for a media that will ask questions.

Judy Miller is the most innocent person in this case. I really thought that was outrageous that she was jailed and we needed as journalists to draw a line in the sand in a strong but thoughtful way.

Journalism is irrepressible. It can't be taken away.

I respect very much the role of the media in our society; I think they can be very, very helpful. They serve as a very useful check, sort of a watchdog over the actions of the government, and I respect that.

The media is absolutely essential to the functioning of a democracy. It's not our job to cozy up to power. We're supposed to be the check and balance on government.

It is the role of good journalism to take on powerful abusers, and when powerful abusers are taken on, there's always a bad reaction. So we see that controversy, and we believe that is a good thing to engage in.

With the press there is no 'off the record.'

It's always unfortunate when a reporter is sent behind bars for failing to turn over sources. There's no way to say what the long-term outcome will be.

I respect the press. The press and the media are a very useful watchdog to check the power of the government.

I far more trust the press than I do the Administration with judgment of what should be secret and what shouldn’t. How many scandals has the Administration uncovered on its own?