A free people depends on a free press

Our Founding Fathers knew that a free people would depend on a free press. They created the free press system for a self-governing society. They saw that information was controlled by the wealthy and powerful, and for this new free press to be free, it would need to be protected from both the government and the rich and powerful. News and information needed to be widespread and accessible to all.

To accomplish these key objectives, the Founding Fathers passed the First Amendment, protecting the press from government interference and censorship; created the U.S. Postal Service to ensure broad distribution of newspapers and periodicals; and subsidized publishers by making them postmasters, to enhance news creation. This established the new government’s vibrant press and enduring democracy. In 1787, Thomas Jefferson wrote that if he had to “decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” Our Founding Fathers understood and upheld the simple fact that daylight is the antidote to corruption, and requires scrutiny by citizens armed with true, solid information. They could not have foreseen the threats to this once-robust free press system and carefully built democracy, with vast majority of the press run by non-democratic business oligarchies and the ensuing spread of disinformation. The Save the Free Press project seeks to reform newspaper and media ownership and re-establish the Founders’ principles of protection, subsidization and universal access.

In 1787, Thomas Jefferson wrote that if he had to “decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” Our Founding Fathers understood and upheld the simple fact that daylight is the antidote to corruption, and requires scrutiny by citizens armed with true, solid information. They could not have foreseen the threats to this once-robust free press system and carefully built democracy, with vast majority of the press run by non-democratic business oligarchies and the ensuing spread of disinformation. The Save the Free Press initiative seeks to reform newspaper and media ownership and re-establish the Founders’ principles of protection, subsidization and universal access.