News
Why is Freedom of the Press Important, Anyway?
By Kelly Keiderling, Charge d'Affaires, a.i.
Embassy of the United States of America
Governments and citizens regularly assert the importance of independent media, but we don't often reflect fully on the role of a free press in the development and strengthening of democracies. World Press Freedom Day gives us an opportunity to think about the benefits of free and responsible media and what our world would be like without independent media.
Professional, responsible and independent news media are essential to developing a healthy democracy. Media are the public's eyes and ears. Media scout for information about the activities of governmental, business, academic, cultural, sports, local and other leaders, and inform the public. Media assess the government's use of our taxpayer money. They alert us to corruption by government officials and other powerful figures. They inform us about public policy debates and give us a chance to present our views about which policies, regulations, laws, or decisions we think are best, and which do not have merit. Independent media allow for all ideas to compete for the public's support.
Information from free and responsible media allows us to make good decisions about where to send our children to school, where to buy the best products, which doctors can best treat a sick family member, which government offices can help us resolve our problems, and which crops to plant. Free media connect us citizens with our leaders, involve us in the public life of our countries, and give us a voice in the development of our nations.
A less-remarked but important role of a free press is its role in development. As former World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn noted, “A free press is at the absolute core of equitable development. If you cannot enfranchise poor people, if they do not have a right to expression, if there is no searchlight on corruption and inequitable practices, you cannot build the public consensus needed to bring about change. A free press is not a luxury." When responsible, independent media educate the public, we develop and improve our health, agricultural, educational and other practices. We empower women and minorities to participate more fully in our societies. We protect more actively our vulnerable citizens. We are more likely to prevent full-scale disasters. And in our globalized world, without an open and accurate flow of information, no nation can effectively participate in the global economy. Those countries without free media are being left further and further behind.
But gathering and disseminating information can be risky for journalism professionals. Attacks on representatives of independent news media are at near-record highs. Reporters, bloggers, and editors face official harassment, prosecution, physical assault, and murder. Just in 2007, according to Reporters without Borders, 1,511 journalists worldwide were physically attacked or threatened, 887 arrested, and 67 kidnapped. In the past 16 years, 679 journalists were killed worldwide in connection with their work, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. In some countries, journalists operate in a climate of intimidation and harassment. It is usually governments which create this climate of fear, pressuring media to report only pro-government news, demanding that journalists reveal confidential sources, threatening media with inappropriate legal or financial actions, intimidating journalists or their family members, or using criminal-libel laws to jail media workers.
Where would we be without a free press? Leaders would rule the government, business, academic and other sectors with only their personal interests at stake, dismissive of the concerns of the broader population. The nation's laws would be applied selectively, only to the weak. Corruption would increase. Reforms would stagnate. The cost of doing business would rise. Citizens would lose trust in their government and disconnect themselves from national development efforts.
The independence of media is tightly tied to democracy. “You cannot have a democratic political culture without open media and open access to information,” summarized Ellen Hume, research director at the Center for Future Civic Media at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal.
On World Press Freedom Day, we recognize the essential role of free and responsible media in our democracies. Without the information which free press provide, the citizen is left powerless and democracy and prosperity are both at risk.