“Freedom of the press is perhaps the freedom that has suffered the most from the gradual degradation of the idea of liberty.”

This freedom is most important, that freedom is most important -- how is it that we can categorically assume what freedom is the most important? We can show cause and correlation factors all day long, but in the end the assumption is basically arbitrary. This said, I would consider the freedom of the press to be perhaps one of the first and foremost battlegrounds for safeguarding the rest, because once this freedom is squelched -- who will be a whistle-blower to the rest of the lost freedoms? Thomas Paine awoke an apathetic America through the press, perhaps it is the press today that is making America apathetic once again.

Unfortunatly, most of the newspapers today are sold out to the left.

Most of the "popular" press/media provides a steady stream of unimportant gruel leaving the body politic unchallenged, unthinking, weak and vulnerable. The left or worse leaning entertainment industry churns out a steady diet of violence, wanton sexual content, vulgar language, morally vacant content to compliment the corruptive and enslaving agenda of the press. Thinking people must turn to other sources to be challenged, enlightened and free.

Logan the quote does not say that Freedom of the Press is the most important but that it has suffered degradation the most. Why is it always the left that gets the blame when it is that right wing guy from Australia that owns all of the tabloids. As far as Hollywood it has it share of right wingers helping to churn out our garbage and some of its B actors are picked up to be our latest "star" politicians, need I mention names, but of course: Schwarznegger, Reagan, for starters. As far as freedom now the right wing does not want their gal Sarah to Face or Meet the Press. Less we forget the author above was the great French wirter who I believe may have been living in New York about this time 1961 (which is near the time of his death in a car accident). He was probably triggered into saying this due to the political atmosphere coming out of th '50's with the Joe McCarthy thing etcetera. This was also the Presidential season in which Kennedy was elected. He was also a figure in the French resistance movement against the Nazis so he new something about press repression.

Indeed! But what has suffered most is the integrity of the press, and without that there is no Freedom, no Liberty. Once the press is controlled by corporations and the government the next step is despotism. The press today is used by the propaganda machine to dumb down it's listeners and to spread lies and deceit to fulfill it's agenda - which is usually benefiting their own version of POW: Power, Oil, and War.

Jim K's statement proves just how effectively the powerful right wingers now fringing on fascism have brainwashed the people through total control of mainstream media. My greatest wonder is how anyone who must know that the media is owned by the largest corporations in America and who have decimated (and more than decimated for that means only 10%) news reporting in favor of opinionating can possibly believe that the media is liberal. How incredible! And how scary that is for continuing liberty.

What the major media outlets exercise now is Freedom of Propaganda, Lies, and Distortions. They are not held accountable (at least not until lately) by public pressure or libel suits. Their bias is so blatant that even the most uninformed know who and what they are. Most newspapers are no better that the old Soviet's Pravda and Isvestia. Why would anyone want to subject themselves to 'when did you stop beating your wife' questions? Why are the traditional media outlets dying? Because they do not exercise the responsibility that comes with their freedom and people aren't buying what they're selling.

You could also say, "The idea of liberty has perhaps suffered the most from the gradual degradation of the freedom of the press."

The press has no freedom while they are control by corporations and the government. The gradual degradation of our liberty is proving the freedom of the press to spread whatever $%&*@ corporate America and governments sends them.

If corporations are in the business to make money, why are the media losing money?... http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=35318

Through the purposeful neglect of defining sound doctrine, Liberty degraded resides in ignorance. MSM suffers the cause of their own effect.

The gradual degradation of liberty is most clearly illustrated through an increasing number of individuals rejecting "the laws of nature and of nature's God" for socialism, despotism, tyranny and a perverse acceptance of becoming helots, serfs and slaves. An accurate assessment of the press / media is that their shallow (blatant at times) and erroneous propaganda has shown to be very effective in dumbing down a craven enclave of individuals. By example: how many stand up to the occupying statist theocracy infesting this land's compelled compliance, victimless crimes, government licensing, larceny with impunity (2nd plank of the communist manifesto, Social Security, police state confiscations, etc.; AND, the NON-recognition of individual sovereignty, inalienable rights, liberty, perfected allodium {absolute ownership}, etc.).

Mental health is a great prerequisite for productive journalism.