Is it important to a democracy to have press that’s free to criticize political leaders? That may seem like a question too obvious to even bother asking. But it turns out that there’s still plenty of disagreement among Americans. “About three-quarters of Democrats (76%) say the freedom of the press to criticize politicians is very important to maintaining a strong democracy; only about half of Republicans (49%) say the same.” (Most people still think checks and balances are pretty important.)

+ I decided to collect a few quotes from notable Americans on the role of the free press.