A Celebration of Press Freedom & the Written Word
Voices across the centuries on the importance of a free press
"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost."
"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."
"The press is the best instrument for enlightening the mind of man."
"Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy."
"A free press can be good or bad, but without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad."
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."
"The function of the press is very high. It is almost holy. It ought to serve as a forum for the people."
"The only security of all is in a free press."
"An informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy."
"News is what somebody somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising."
"The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing."
"Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed. Everything else is public relations."
"The press must be free; it has no other choice."
"A newspaper is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier."
"All I know is just what I read in the papers."