JEFFERSON,THOMAS PERSPECTIVES ON THE PRESS AS AN INSTRUMENT OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

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.