Belief in Freedom of Speech and Press

Abstract

Data regarding belief in freedom of speech and press collected in early 1970 in face‐to‐face interviews with 2486 respondents in a national probability sample of adults test several hypotheses derived from previous empirical research. The general findings were: (a) a minority of adults in the U.S. fully accept the principle of free speech and press; (b) belief in free speech and press is related to a variety of demographic variables; (c) people who label themselves as liberal, who are high consumers of written mass media, and who are more active in the political process are more likely to endorse freedom of speech and press; and (d) patterns of relationship between belief in freedom of speech and press and other social psychological and demographic variables are rather stable over time.