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On America's History & Government
On Freedom of the Press
There is abundant evidence of the potentially irreconcilable
conflict between the free press and government. There
has been an unprecedented increase in the ability to gather, maintain,
and disseminate information. By the mid-1990's, information
had
become an even more vital factor, an indicator of power
and control. The special and somewhat fragile adversary role between
the journalist
and public officials is influenced substantially by the
availability, or lack thereof, of information.
The dilemma
for the media and
government is the same today as it was in 1776. George
Washington observed:
"It
is much to be wished that our printers were more discrete in many of
their publications. We see in almost
every paper proclamations or accounts transmitted
by the enemy
of an injurious nature. If some hint of caution could
be given them on the subject, it might be of material
service."
Thomas
Jefferson, the very symbol of liberty, was an outspoken
supporter of the free press before he became President:
"Were
it left to me to decide whether we should have
a government without newspapers
or newspapers without government, I should not
hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
After Jefferson
became President he came to a different point
of view concerning the press:
"The
abuses of freedom of the press here have been
carried to a length never before known or borne by any
civilized nation. The abuses
of an institution so important to freedom and
science are deeply to be regretted inasmuch as they tend
to lessen its usefulness
and to sap its safety. "
There is
more, from other founding fathers. John Adams:
"If
there is ever to be an amelioration of the condition of mankind, philosophers,
theologians,
legislators, politicians, and moralists
will
find that the regulation of the
press is the most difficult, dangerous,
and important problem they have to solve. Mankind cannot
be governed
without it, nor
at present with it. "
"Must
government of necessity be too strong for
the liberties of
its people, or too weak to maintain its
own existence? "
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