For only the second time in history, a presidential candidate has won a non-consecutive second term in office. Regrettably, there were also two assassination attempts against that same candidate in the months before the election. More than $5.5 billion is estimated to have been spent on the presidential race alone, with one candidate burning through over $1 billion dollars after having entered the race late as a replacement for the duly nominated candidate on the Democratic ticket — another historic first in and of itself. 

From a purely political-science perspective, this was an historic election. There are a lot of noteworthy aspects to this election cycle, indeed.  

However, the most important development in this presidential cycle is just how critical our First Amendment protections are in this era of quickly changing media landscapes and our viral online-driven informational economy.

“Alternative media” such as podcasts, citizen journalists, independent news websites, and non-profit news organizations have diminished the influence of traditional television and newspaper outlets as the primary source of news for most Americans. It’s clear the media environment in America is undergoing a dramatic shift; but it’s not merely technology, social media or the rise of “independent” outlets that are responsible for such a transformation. Instead, it’s our very ability to speak freely that has given rise to such massive innovation.  Without the First Amendment, the existence of alternative media would merely be that of form, not substance.

Twenty-six years ago, Matt Drudge gave a speech to the National Press Club, in which he prophetically described the internet as “the people’s media.” He envisioned a future with “300 million” reporters driving national discourse. A world where access to information was so democratized, any individual with an internet connection could become the next Walter Cronkite. 

Never has the shift away from traditional media toward such a future been as apparent as it was in this year’s presidential election. 

Kamala Harris reportedly spent six figures on the Call Me Daddy podcast to boost her image among young women, and some political thinkers are already crediting Donald Trump’s appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience with helping him ultimately seize electoral victory. 

The internet might very well be the 21^st century’s equivalent of the printing press, but the freedom to print what we wish on that press is what created the world we see today and contributed to the Presidential election results this year. It’s our constitution’s protection of individual voices, the liberty to hold contrarian views and the right for each of us to speak freely that props up our era of ever-expanding and diverse perspectives in this quickly growing new media ecosystem.   

For the legacy media and those in government power, this freedom is undoubtedly terrifying. Such a “wild west” of competing sources makes misinformation, conspiracies and even outright lies far more pervasive in our national discourse. 

As unsettling as such freedoms might be to some, however, they’re still critical to ensuring a vibrant democratic society. It’s that freedom — the independence of the press and the right to speak even unpopular opinions — that empowers citizens to change the world around them. 

The concept of free speech is the most fundamental bedrock principle of maintaining a free and open society. As the French philosopher Voltaire is often credited with saying, “I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” — a principle our founding fathers found so important, it was the motivation behind the First Amendment made to our Constitution in 1791.  

A lot has changed in the 233 years since the First Amendment was ratified by Congress, but the need for its protections has only grown stronger. Conservative, Progressive, Democrat, Independent or Republican, the 2024 election made it clear we’re all a part of “the people’s media” in the 21^st Century. So long as our First Amendment rights are protected, gone are the days when gatekeepers in government and corporate boardrooms were capable of deciding what Americans hear, see and believe.

It is more important than ever that we defend the freedoms that have made this new world possible in the first place.