111 Iowa L. Rev. 473 (2026)
Abstract
Among elected officials and the broader public, attitudes toward the press are deeply polarized along ideological lines. Polling shows that most liberals favor the press, while conservatives view it more negatively—a partisan divide that has widened significantly over the past decade. Conventional wisdom suggests that the same ideological split is also at work at the Supreme Court, with liberal Justices championing the work of the press while their conservative colleagues express more skepticism. This perception is reinforced by historical examples of liberal Justices advancing press rights alongside broader democracy-engagement and social-justice issues. Recent calls from some conservative Justices to unwind major protections for journalists amplify it further. But the conventional wisdom is no longer true. Our coded opinion dataset captures the tone of every paragraph mentioning the press or the functions of the press in Supreme Court opinions throughout its history. Analysis of this data reveals that although ideology historically has been highly correlated with a Justice’s press positivity, the Court’s once-vibrant liberal support for the press has disappeared. This Article explores these unexpected trends, demonstrating how ideology has become a poorer predictor of press positivity and how press friendliness has been decoupled from the other progressive principles with which it once was connected, such as civil rights and civil liberties.