Last month, four journalism and press freedom groups — the Newspaper Association of America, the American Society of News Editors, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Association of Alternative Newsmedia — filed comments to the FCC in support of true Net Neutrality. This filing highlights how crucial the open Internet is for news organizations to thrive and for people to access the information they need.

Newspapers and other forms of media are an integral part of a healthy democracy — which is why these groups decided to take a stand against FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to allow discrimination online. Allowing a two-tiered Internet would create a Web where the content providers with the most money and power would be the most visible. Without Net Neutrality, we would no longer have unfettered access to news and information.

As the Internet and related technology have become an essential part of our lives, journalism has made the shift online. According to the Pew Research Center, half of all Americans now rely on the Internet as their main source of both national and international news. The free flow of information the open Internet enables allows us to access the pressing news stories of our time. And the Internet has given news organizations more tools to hold those in power accountable.

The Internet has changed not just how we access media but also how we consume it. News outlets can offer video interviews, stunning visual images and interactive websites to accompany their reporting. There is a level of engagement and immersion available to audiences that traditional print cannot facilitate.

The ability to access news online has also increased interaction with others. Social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook have created infinite hubs within communities that foster conversations about the world around us. This dynamic creates opportunities to learn not just from media outlets but from each other.

When we’re able to freely connect and communicate online, we’re empowered to make informed choices. This is why it’s so important for news organizations to be able to connect with us on a level playing field. As the filing notes:

In addition to educating and reporting, the press serves as the public’s independent watchdog, charged with keeping governments, businesses and other organizations in check. This work is increasingly moving online as newspapers and other publishers move to digital and mobile platforms to provide readers with news and information when and how they want to receive it. The Internet is also a key source of information in the newsgathering process, as these media outlets interact with the public — via their own websites and others — to acquire and confirm important information.

That dialogue between news outlets and the public won’t exist without the open Internet. Indeed, it won’t just be the media that loses out if we don’t have Net Neutrality. Our democracy will suffer as well.