General Discussion

I don't know if there was ever a more fierce defender of the First Amendment than Justice Douglas. Yet he said that the First Amendment does not exempt media outlets from anti-trust enforcement. The intention of the First Amendment is to protect the public's right to access to information, not to protect the interests of a few billionaires.

Citizen Publishing Co. v. United States (1969)

In Citizen Publishing Co. v. United States, 394 U.S. 131 (1969), the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling affirming that an agreement between two Tucson newspapers violated federal antitrust laws and that the Justice Department was correct in requiring that the two papers act independently of each other. In so doing, it made it clear that the First Amendment did not exempt news organizations from antitrust laws.

First Amendment does not exempt the press from antitrust laws

In the Supreme Court’s majority opinion, Justice William O. Douglas wrote that the newspapers were, indeed, guilty of the violations as charged. He cited insufficient evidence to support a “failing company” defense — that in the course of liquidating the Citizen, the Star was the only available purchaser.

He also noted that the First Amendment does not support the trade restraints imposed by the joint operating agreement; that is, the First Amendment does not exempt papers from laws aimed at preserving competition.

https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/citizen-publishing-co-v-united-states/