Quotes concerning freedom of speech and freedom of the press

Like many people, I'm a collector of quotes. This batch includes some of my favorite quotes concerning the freedom of speech and press: “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freedom of speech.” Benjamin Franklin “The one thing that’s worse than hearing about all that violence and all that bad news on television is not being permitted to hear it.” Charles Kurault "Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment-- the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution--not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply "give the public what it wants"--but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion." John F. Kennedy http://surftofind.com/secrecy “When the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.” Thomas Jefferson “The basis of our government 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.” Thomas Jefferson “If a nation expects to be both ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be.” Thomas Jefferson “Nothing could be more irrational than to give the people power, and to withhold from them information without which power is abused. A people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with power which knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both.” James Madison “To the press alone, checkered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been obtained by reason and humanity over error and oppression.” James Madison [More . . . ]

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Sarah Palin’s downward spiral picks up speed.

Andrew Sullivan is saying it like it is and he is thus getting pummeled by many conservatives.  But the conservative press nonetheless refuses to acknowledge and discuss Sarah Palin's lies: [N]o one at the Corner has the intellectual honesty to discuss the lies that the McCain camp has been putting…

Continue ReadingSarah Palin’s downward spiral picks up speed.

Representative Keith Ellison: fighting to get real information to the People

Representative Keith Ellison is one of my heroes.   Before a big crowd in Minneapolis in June, 2008, Ellison delivered a passionate speech on the importance of having a media that truly informs the People.   I agree whole-heartedly with his statement that the People will do the right things, but only…

Continue ReadingRepresentative Keith Ellison: fighting to get real information to the People

The American media is horribly dysfunctional but you have the power to change it.

This was the third year I attended the National Conference for Media Reform sponsored by Free Press. This year's conference was held in Minneapolis. As in previous media reform conferences, I was reminded about many of the hurdles faced by those American citizens who are attempting to get serious and coherent coverage of the news. By "news," I mean the type of information that is critically important in order to prepare us to make good decisions as citizens (i.e., voting). One of the most distressing things one learns from attending the conference is that very little news is available to those watch local TV "news" and read their local "news"papers. One of the fundamental principles of Free Press is that there cannot be a healthy democracy without a vigorous news media. The problem is that our news media is sickly, poisoned by rampant commercialism. The modern corporate media is over-consolidated to such an extent that it reflexively kowtows to political power and repeatedly refuses to challenge abuses of that power.

McChesney/Nichols - Part I

Topics covered in Part I:
  • Is the media reform movement paying too much attention to Bill O'Reilly and FOX?
  • The basic aims of the media reform movement.
  • More on Free Press and the reason for the media reform movement.
  • The problem with over-consolidation of the media.
Free Press stands for the proposition that there is no stark divide between journalists and citizens.

Continue ReadingThe American media is horribly dysfunctional but you have the power to change it.