Question

Which of the following is the best example of the importance of a free press in a republic?

• A. The disclosure of high crimes committed by members of the Nixon administration
• B. The television broadcasts of the destruction of the World Trade Center
• C. The "fireside chats" given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt over the radio
• D. The publication in the next day's newspapers of important presidential speeches
• E. The coverage of the legal battle over Terry Schiavo's right to die

Answer 1

The correct option is A The disclosure of high crimes committed by members of the Nixon administration

A free press is important primarily because it reports accurately on activities within the government. Only choice A describes a situation in which the press revealed damaging information that the government certainly would have kept secret if there had not been a free press to reveal it.