re: Why is freedom of the press important in a democracy?

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There's a difference between a free press and an honest press imo. We haven't seen much of the latter the last nine years, regretfully.

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The news business is a tough business because you rely on advertisers for funding and those advertisers hold a big stick as to what is published and what is not published. Politicians can hold businesses hostage if they are advertising in a news outlet that isn't favorable to them which people often don't realize. Those businesses put pressure on the editors or owners to quash story or they will move their advertising over to another medium.

The only other option is the news media funded not by advertisers but by private donors or foundations--the same ethical quandaries are present in those outlets too. Albeit the news media outlets funded strictly by public donations versus private donors/businesses due tend to have better stories and content IMO but a smaller number of eyeballs reading their stories.

Sad situation the press is in today in the US. It really sucks when I get better national or local news on foreign news outlets covering the US than I do by news outlets based in the US.