In Iran the whole reform and democracy movement has been based on the emerging free press.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
A free press is the cornerstone of democracy; there is no question about that.
I tell you, in my opinion, the cornerstone of democracy is free press - that's the cornerstone.
A free and truly independent press - fiercely independent when necessary - is the red beating heart of freedom and democracy.
I'm very much in support of the free press, but the free press ought to be educational and informative. And I believe they have fallen down recently on that.
Journalism is what maintains democracy. It's the force for progressive social change.
No one needs to tell me about the importance of the free press in a democratic society or about the essential role a newspaper can play in its community.
We want the people, in their private lives, to be completely free, and in today's world, having access to information and the right of free dialogue and the right to think freely is the right of all peoples, including the people of Iran.
The stories from Iran's present and past are reminders that freedom, democracy and human rights, or fundamentalism, fascism and terrorism are not geographically and culturally determined, but universal.
I take a grave view of the press. It is the weak slat under the bed of democracy.
In Iran, there is no freedom of the press, no freedom of speech, no independent judiciary, no free elections. There is no freedom of religion - not even for Shiites, who are forced by Iran's theocracy to adhere to one narrow set of official rules.