U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) spoke on the U.S. House floor Sept. 23, 2020, regarding the need for a free press in the United States. (Click on picture below to watch video.)
Remarks as prepared for delivery:
Madam Speaker, it was Thomas Jefferson that said, if he had to choose, he would prefer newspapers without government, over government without newspapers.
That is a dramatic statement, but I think it highlights how critical journalism is to holding government accountable.
As my lapel pin notes tonight, “Democracy Demands Journalism.”
Journalism is not a comfortable duty. I suspect every good reporter has faced the wrath of a wronged politician and has had disgruntled viewers or readers or listeners cancel their patronage.
It’s tempting for us to be among the disgruntled, but if we want a free society, we have to support a free press. One whose loyalty is not to partisan endeavors or to stoking division and conflict, but rather, is to the truth.
Yes, Madam Speaker, Democracy Demands Journalism.
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