Cite as: 532 U. S. 514 (2001)
Breyer, J., concurring
299 U. S. 353, 365 (1937); Whitney v. California, 274 U. S. 357, 375-376 (1927) (Brandeis, J., concurring); see also Roth, 354 U. S., at 484; Stromberg, 283 U. S., at 369; Bridges, 314 U. S., at 270. It was the overriding importance of that commitment that supported our holding that neither factual error nor defamatory content, nor a combination of the two, sufficed to remove the First Amendment shield from criticism of official conduct. Id., at 273; see also NAACP v. Button, 371 U. S. 415, 445 (1963); Wood v. Georgia, 370 U. S. 375 (1962); Craig v. Harney, 331 U. S. 367 (1947); Pennekamp v. Florida, 328 U. S. 331, 342, 343, n. 5, 345 (1946); Bridges, 314 U. S., at 270.
We think it clear that parallel reasoning requires the conclusion that a stranger's illegal conduct does not suffice to remove the First Amendment shield from speech about a matter of public concern.22 The months of negotiations over the proper level of compensation for teachers at the Wyoming Valley West High School were unquestionably a matter of public concern, and respondents were clearly engaged in debate about that concern. That debate may be more mundane than the Communist rhetoric that inspired Justice Brandeis' classic opinion in Whitney v. California, 274 U. S., at 372, but it is no less worthy of constitutional protection.
The judgment is affirmed.
It is so ordered.
Justice Breyer, with whom Justice O'Connor joins, concurring.
I join the Court's opinion. I agree with its narrow holding limited to the special circumstances present here: (1) the radio broadcasters acted lawfully (up to the time of final public disclosure); and (2) the information publicized in-22 See, e. g., Florida Star v. B. J. F., 491 U. S. 524, 535 (1989) (acknowledging "the 'timidity and self-censorship' which may result from allowing the media to be punished for publishing truthful information").
535
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