Freedom of Press

The press is the only medium of public communication. The press created NEWS and that’s how we come to know about the world. Freedom of press is very important when we talk about fairness of activities and the importance of public information. The public should be kept informed about everything that is happening in the world. Especially in a democratic independent state, it is the right to information of the citizens which makes it mandatory for the government to give complete freedom to the press for publishing factual information for the public. However, there are communist led countries and monarchies which do not give freedom to the press. The press is only supposed to publish what the government wants to disclose to the public. There has been widespread opposition throughout the globe against the virtual captivity of the press in such countries.

As per the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “every one has the right to expression and opinion, this includes freedom to hold opinion without interference, and impart information and idea through any media regardless of frontiers”
Article 19 is a human rights organization based at London which protects the rights of the freedom of press and expression. This organization takes up the causes of threats to the freedom of press. They also ensure and draft legal procedures towards the protection of media. It keeps a check on the lacunae in policies of some countries which impact the freedom of press.
Freedom of press has drawbacks too. As we have been saying all the time that too much of anything is not good, sometimes the press takes undue advantage of its freedom. Celebrities and politicians are often the victims of the freedom of press. Usually, the press is the source of rumors which may bring about huge political turbulence worldwide.

However, different countries have different regulations on press but all these regulations are mutually established and amended from time to time between the government and the press authority. These regulations are mainly based on the criticality of information related to the sovereignty of the nation. This critical information can be categorized under classified information or sensitive information. Sensitive information is information which is regulated by law or is prohibited to be passed on to specific people. There are countries and some sensitive areas of the world where foreign journalists are not allowed. These places include Chechnya and Jammu and Kashmir.

Internet journalism has brought a new revolution in the sharing and distribution of information across the world. There are millions of blogs floating around on the internet which have been started by individuals who do not have to be journalists. Common people discuss critical issues of the world through blogs. This is a perfect example of the freedom of expression and presenting one’s opinion.

The press has a lot of freedom but it should be responsible enough to pass on the right information to the people. It must realize that the world depends upon the information they provide. Press can influence revolutions and hence their role in the society is a very important and responsible one.

Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/