The Press, Watson, is a most valuable institution, if you only know how to use it. Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Six Napoleons/The Adventure of the Crooked Man
And so it is to the printing press – to the recorder of man’s deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news – that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent. John F Kennedy
The press and the pulpit have in every age and every nation been on the side of the exploiting class and the ruling class. Eugene V Debs
Freedom of the press is not an end in itself but a means to the end of a free society. Felix Frankfurter
The liberty of the press is essential to the security of freedom in a state: it ought not, therefore, to be restrained in this commonwealth. John Adams
Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government. Hugo L Black
The liberty of the press is indeed essential to the nature of a free state: but this consists in laying no previous restraints upon publications, and not in freedom from censure for criminal matters when published. William Blackstone
Administration of government has become more complex, the opportunities for malfeasance and corruption have multiplied, crime has grown to most serious proportions, and the danger of its protection by unfaithful officials and of the impairment of the fundamental security of life and property by criminal alliances and official neglect, emphasizes the primary need of a vigilant and courageous press, especially in great cities. Charles Evans Hughes, Near v Minnesota 1931
Freedom of the press requires, that it should be exempt, not only from previous restraint by the executive, as in Great Britain, but from legislative restraint also; and this exemption, to be effectual, must be an exemption not only from the previous inspection of licensers, but from the subsequent penalty of laws. James Madison, report of 1800
Without a free press and the right of assembly, it is impossible not merely to appeal to outside opinion, but to bring a mass movement into being, or even to make your intentions known to your adversary. George Orwell, Reflections on Gandhi
The liberty of the press is a very great advantage and security to our public liberty. Lord Mansfield, The King v Williams 1774 Lofft 763
Media tycoon Robert Maxwell who died under mysterious circumstances in 1991 ... He went missing from his yacht ... ‘The story is it was a hit-squad from Mossad’. Conspiracy: Lord Lucan Dossier, citing Kevin Cahill, BBC 2015
There was a time when the public tug-of-war between the Palace and Press threatened to tear apart the entire institution. Reinventing the Royals I, BBC 2015
The rules of press engagement were re-written. ibid.
Charles ... hired a spin doctor ... Charles’s reputation was in tatters. ibid.
When the company screws up, best thing to do is call a press conference. The Office US s3e21: Product Recall, Michael, NBC 2007
Paparazzi: photographers who stalk their prey: celebrities. Climbing through bushes, peeking through car windows, all lying in wait for that perfect shot, for that perfect candid moment … Will they bear a true emotion? Uncensored with Michael Ware VIII: Paparazzi, National Geographic 2017
The most hated photographers in the world who are part of this massive money-making machine, the eco-system of celebrities. ibid.
You’re having your reality contorted right in front of your eyes. (Media & Press & Reality) Patrick Henningsen, Alternative View 5 conference lecture, ‘Bending Reality: Countering Media Manipulation in the 21st Century’
What is the Fourth Estate? The difference between Press vs Media. Politicisation of Media. If we lose the Free Press then there is no shame for criminal elites and bullies. Any level of tyranny is possible. We’ve never had a Free Press until the internet came along. ibid. bullet points
In 2014 trivial stories routinely grab headlines; product placements grab headlines; cock-ups not cover-ups; information becomes disinformation; ‘informative’ replaced by ‘coercion’; the Fourth Estate has become a Fifth Column. ibid.
Most people now view the world in a narrow band of reality. ibid.
This is in theory still a free country but our politically correct, censorious times are such that many of us tremble to give vent to perfectly acceptable views for fear of condemnation. Freedom of speech is thereby imperilled, big questions go undebated, and great lies become accepted, unequivocally as great truths. Simon Heffer, Daily Mail 7th June 2000
We definitely have a more ‘yes man’ or ‘yes woman’ culture now. There’s a generation of people now that are very keen to rise, will do what they think the editorial bosses want them to do and are less awkward in terms of how they interpret directives from the top. You end up with an output that is too homogenised, too reactive and I think not questioning enough. BBC News Editor, cited Justin Schlosberg, Power Beyond Scrutiny: Media, Justice and Accountability
1954: I inherited my first newspaper … 1983: I bought my first cable channel. Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism, 2004
9 satellite television networks, 175 newspapers, 100 cable channels, 40 book imprints, 40 television stations, 1 movie studio … ibid.
‘… Firmly announce we are starting a Fox news channel …’ ibid. Murdoch
‘We were a proponent of a point of view.’ ibid. Jon du Pre
‘… some people say …’ ibid. Fox cliché
‘… shut up! …’ ibid. Bill O’Reilly
‘… who actively work against our military once a war is underway will be considered enemies of the state by me.’ ibid. O’Reilly
‘Tremendous progress in Iraq.’ ibid. Rupert Murdoch
‘That call on election night had more to do with making George Bush president than any recount or ballot design issue.’ ibid. John Nichols
The United States as the world knows will never start a war. The Post ***** 2017 starring Meryl Streep & Tom Hanks & Sarah Paulson & Bob Odenkirk & Tracy Letts & Bradley Whitford & Bruce Greenwood & Matthew Rhys & Alison Brie & Carrie Coon & Jesse Plemons et al, director Steven Spielberg, Kennedy
We can’t let an administration dictate our coverage. ibid. Ben
What is it you think we do here for a living, kid? ibid.
Vietnam Archive: Pentagon Study Traces 3 Decades of Growing US Involvement. ibid. Sheehan Times article
We got over 100 pages of the McNamara study here. ibid. Journalist
They lied to Congress and they lied to the public. ibid. Leak
If we don’t hold them accountable, my God, who will? ibid. Ben
This is an historic fight. If they [Times] lose, we lose. ibid.
The violence of the press attacks on Aslef, and the sustained and bitter hostility of the media towards the Labour movement is responsible for the refusal to handle some newspapers on the railways. Day after day Fleet Street conducts its campaign against working people, ignoring their interests, distorting their arguments and abusing their representatives. Working journalists can no longer evade their moral responsibilities by shielding behind their editors, nor editors by shielding behind their proprietors. Nor can arguments based on the freedom of the press be used as an excuse to deny freedom of expression to millions of people who have lost their jobs, suffered cuts in living standards or in essential health and education services. Tony Benn, speech to press 26 January 1982, viz The Times 27 January 1982
I do not think we have a free press in Britain today. There is not a single newspaper that I can buy, not one in Britain that reflects my political position. And The Times, dare I say to you, is really disreputable. It does not print truthfully and faithfully what happens and it pretends, because it is printed in small print, that it is above argument. But it is a political propaganda instrument like The Sun, but it is printed in rather better print and rather shrewder language. Tony Benn, cited The Times 13 March 1982
Rupert Murdoch is an enigma. Owner of The Sun, The Times, The Sunday Times, Fox News and hundreds of other media outlets across the world. And yet his story is rarely told. The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty I, BBC 2020
To some he is an extraordinary business man; to others, he is a dark force. For decades Murdoch has been a force in politics at the highest level. ibid.
‘The pollution of the British press is an important part of the pollution of British political life.’ ibid. Dennis Potter
‘There is only one Rupert that we know.’ ibid. Trump
Next, he wants to conquer the British market. And he uses the same plan, starting with the tabloids, the News of the World and The Sun. Next, he tries to buy The Times and The Sunday Times. ibid.
‘The price of Rupert Murdoch’s support for Tony Blair was that Blair promised he would not take us into the European currency without first having a referendum.’ ibid. Nigel Farage