September 5, 2025

[On freedom of the press] The intrusion of government into this domain is symptomatic of the disease of this society. As the years pass, the power of government becomes more and more pervasive. It is power to suffocate both people and causes. Those in power, whatever their politics, want only to perpetuate it. Now that the fences of the law and the tradition that has protected the press are broken down, the people are the victims. The First Amendment, as I read it, was designed precisely to prevent this tragedy.

William O. Douglas (1898–1980), American Supreme Court justice, Dissent, United States v. Caldwell (1972), Seldes p.113

Yes, but what about hate speech?

The dismissal in some quarters of so much of the fourth estate (the press, the media) as purveyors of “fake news” is only the latest move in the breaking down of fences.