Richmond Times-Dispatch: Jeffersonian ideals necessitate newspapers

Wherever the spirit of Thomas Jefferson rests, it must be deeply troubled by growing assumptions that the American daily newspaper is a dying institution, doomed primarily by the indifference of technophiles who mistakenly believe the Internet offers the ultimate in the conveyance of information they need as citizens. Jefferson's own words suggest he would consider the demise of this great instrument of democracy to be a national tragedy, one that might severely limit the governing power of the people.

"The basis of our government being the opinion of the people," Jefferson wrote in 1787, "the very first object should be to keep that right, and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

Read the full column: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/oped/2012/jun/29/tdopin02-grimsley-jeffersonian-ideals-necessitate--ar-2021212/