Freedom of the Press

Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.
— First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Thomas Jefferson, on the necessity of a free press (1787)

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.