Power & Freedom of the Press Quotations
1. "Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy." Walter Cronkite
2. "Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." Thomas Jefferson
3. "Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech." Benjamin Franklin
4. "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people." John F. Kennedy
5. "Freedom of the press is a precious privilege that no country can forego." Mahatma Gandhi
6. "Freedom of conscience, of education, of speech, of assembly are among the very fundamentals of democracy and all of them would be nullified should freedom of the press ever be successfully challenged." Franklin D. Roosevelt
7. "The Government's power to censor the press was abolished so that the press would remain forever free to censure the Government. The press was protected so that it could bare the secrets of government and inform the people. Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government." Hugo Black
8. "Freedom of the Press, if it means anything at all, means the freedom to criticize and oppose" George Orwell
9. "The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable." James Madison
10. "Freedom of the press is essential to the preservation of a democracy; but there is a difference between freedom and license. Editorialists who tell downright lies in order to advance their own agendas do more to discredit the press than all the censors in the world." Franklin D. Roosevelt
11. "The only security of all is in a free press." Thomas Jefferson
12. "The press is the best instrument for enlightening the mind of man, and improving him as a rational, moral and social being" Thomas Jefferson
13. "Whoever controls the media, controls the mind." Jim Morrison
14. "The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments." George Mason
15. "Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins. Republics and limited monarchies derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistrates." Benjamin Franklin
16. "Why should freedom of speech and freedom of press be allowed? Why should a government which is doing what it believes to be right allow itself to be criticized? It would not allow opposition by lethal weapons. Ideas are much more fatal things than guns. Why should any man be allowed to buy a printing press and disseminate pernicious opinions calculated to embarrass the government?" Vladimir Lenin
17. "Those who suppress freedom always do so in the name of law and order." John Lindsay