Al. Golden et Jl. Golden, JEFFERSON,THOMAS PERSPECTIVES ON THE PRESS AS AN INSTRUMENT OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION, American behavioral scientist, 37(2), 1993, pp. 194-199
This article seeks to show that Jefferson's faith in the people's abil
ity to govern themselves and his belief in the two-party system led hi
m to conclude that a free press is needed to provide vital information
required for an intelligent decision in an election campaign. Thus he
encouraged the development of newspapers representing all points of v
iew, and expressed the hope that these journals would be examined crit
ically by the editor and by the public. Even though the high standards
he upheld for a responsible press were violated in the 1800 president
ial campaign, he maintained his strong belief that freedom of the pres
s and expression should always prevail.