Thomas Jefferson Quotes

The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them.

A people without reliable news is, sooner or later, a people without the basis of freedom.

American democracy depends on the public's ability to remain accurately informed on our state of affairs.

There is nothing more important to a democracy than an active and engaged press.

We have a First Amendment for good reasons. We need a free press because without an educated electorate we cannot have a functioning democracy.

I would rather have newspapers without a government than a government without newspapers.

We need a free media, not just freedom of speech.

Journalism is what maintains democracy. It's the force for progressive social change.

Freedom of the press is not an end in itself but a means to the end of achieving a free society.

Vigorous independent and critical media are indispensable in a democracy.

The Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to bare the secrets of government and inform the people.

Being a reporter is at the very core of a democracy, being a free person in a free society.

The basis of our government's being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter.

The function of a newspaper in a democracy is to stand as a sort of chronic opposition to the reigning quacks.

Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. And paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people

A free press stands as one of the great interpreters between the government and the people. To allow it to be fettered is to fetter ourselves.

Journalism is what we need to make democracy work.

Flaws and all, I believe the free press is our country's most important institution - one I am more than happy to defend. One I did, in fact, defend for 37 years.

Democratic societies need a strong media, and WikiLeaks is part of that media.

The most important newspapers in this country need to exist. Our democracy needs them. Life as we know it would be unthinkable without them.

A free press is one of the pillars of democracy.

I have sworn to uphold the Constitution ... and a free press is absolutely vital to the freedom of this country.

A free press can only exist where there is private control over the means of production

Without a free press there can be no free society. That is axiomatic. However, freedom of the press is not an end in itself but a means to the end of a free society. The scope and nature of the constitutional guarantee of the freedom of the press are to be viewed and applied in that light.

A free press is the immune system of representative democracy.