 |
|
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND |
World Press Freedom Day was on May 3 and has been celebrated each year since
1993. Its aim is to reinforce the need for press freedom, to defend it against
attack and to honour those who have lost their lives while carrying out their work.
Freedom of the Press is protected under the Universal Charter of Human Rights which all 193 member states have endorsed. Article 19 says:
- "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."
This guarantees freeedom of expression, which includes press freedom, ensuring that journalists and media organisations can operate without government censorship or interference.Unfortunately both are under threat in many parts of the world and this year they have in fact gone into decline. In the first part of this post we will talk about the direct threats to journalists and publishers. In Part 2 we will talk about some of the more insidious ones.
Why it Matters
Press Freedom is about the people’s right to know. When we talk about press freedom, I don’t just mean newspapers, but all forms of public communication including television, radio and the various digital means by which people obtain their news. Factual information is essential to healthy democracies because they bring transparency, hold governments to account, shed light on hidden problems, give a voice to those who have previously been unheard and enable citizens to make informed decisions about who should govern them and what direction that should take.
This noble endeavour is under attack on a number of fronts. According to Reporters without borders, declines in Press freedom have been reported in many countries including India, Turkey and Hungary. Even in the USA where press freedom is guaranteed under its constitution, President Trump intervenes in who may attend White House Press Conferences and has journalists who give unfavourable coverage sacked. Disinformation Laws and Digital Censorship laws have been used to suppress critical reporting.
In the World Press Freedom Index in which Reporters without Borders ranks countries according to the degree of political influence, legal protections and safety of journalists, Nordic countries consistently rank highest in terms of Press Freedom, with Russia near the bottom at #171 out of 180 with countries such as Afghanistan and Iran regarded as among the worst performers.
Some of the ways in which Press Freedom is being constrained
1. Direct and indirect threats to journalists and publishers- death, arrests, violence and disappearances. Censorship, political interference, commercial pressure, loss of livelihood, legal sanctions, self - censorship
2. Changes in the Media Landscape - The switch to social media, concentration of ownership, and loss of diversity
3. The rise of Misinformation and Disinformation - ironically the rise of alternative news – democratisation gives all voices equal weight under the guise of free speech and the elimination of Fact Checkers on social Media
4. How AI impacts Press Freedom
In this section I will be talking mostly about the direct and indirect threats to news gatherers and publishers, but Part 2 will be about the more some of the more insidious ones.
Direct Threats
More than 82 journalists lost
their lives in 2024. Conflict zones such as Gaza and Ukraine are prime killing fields
for journalists with Gaza alone accounting for at least 217 deaths of journalists since
the latest hostilities began in 2023.
In Ukraine, the body of 27-year-old Ukrainian
journalist, Viktoriia Roschyna who was detained by Russian forces in August
2023 was returned in September 2024 showing signs of starvation, torture and
mutilation.
Others face arrest, disappearances, persecution, and censorship, More than 550 journalists were imprisoned by the end of 2023 according to Reporters Without Borders. Online abuse, legal harassment and threats have also increased.
In Hong Kong the editor of pro -democracy newspaper Apple Daily, Jimmy Lai, for example, has been in prison since 2020 and six other journalists and its executives were arrested in 2021.
In Pakistan 330 journalists were arrested and experienced torture, threats and mistreatment and between August 2021 and September 2024, some 10, 078 have disappeared.
In Belarus 40 journalists have been
imprisoned and others have been exiled and in Georgia unlawful force has been
used to prevent journalists covering protests with some being detained.
Guatemala is targeting journalists and human rights activists with arbitrary detention and smear campaigns. Jose Rubén Zamora has been detained for over 1000 days for reporting on government corruption.
Mexico holds the unfortunate record of having the highest number of missing journalists.
Both Madagascar and Mozambique have
recently passed laws against Cyber Crime and Terrorism which have unfortunately
been used to prevent journalists and human rights advocates from speaking out against
corruption and human rights abuses. Death threats, violence and killings have
also been deployed.
These are but a few examples of what’s happening to journalists and news outlets around the world. You can read more here. UNESCO supports many journalists in war zones and has this year awarded its UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Prize for Press Freedom to Nicaraguan Newspaper “La Prensa for continuing ‘to bring the truth to the people’ despite the arrest and exile of its leaders who continue to publish in exile.
Unfortunately, the Nicaraguan Government’s response to this honour has been to walk out of UNESCO.
Indirect Threats
Just because repression is more subtle in Western Countries doesn’t mean it does not exist. Its weapons of choice are more likely to be of an economic kind – loss of employment, expensive defamation cases and the like, rather than death threats, but even in Australia there have been instances of intimidation, abuse and police overreach. There is also at least one whistleblower in gaol in Australia. A presenter on Australia's public broadcaster, Antoinette Lattouf had her contract cut short because she had posted content from Human Rights Watch on her private Instagram account.
A recent case against journalist Lisa Wilkinson is estimated to have cost her $700,000 in legal fees and Channel 10, her employer, between $8 and $10 million.
As well as being a great burden on
journalists and publishers alike, it creates a chilling effect which results
in self -censorship or the publication of more mundane stories, puff pieces about
celebrities or thinly veiled advertising, rather than hard hitting
investigative journalism which seeks to expose corruption or wrongdoing, things
which we might class as being important for democracy.
Media outlets are also under threat from potential
loss of advertising revenue in the case of commercial media reliant on
advertising for their survival, or withdrawal of funding in the case of public
broadcasters if they report unfavourably on government activities or those of favoured groups. The previous government also influenced editorial policy by appointing directors of their choice and thus possibly editorial content and hiring and firing of staff.
What you can do:
- Support trusted independent journalism by subscribing or donating
- If journalists, whistleblowers or media outlets are facing court action, donate there too if you can
- Urge governments to give greater protection to journalists, publishers and whistleblowers and put their full support behind article 19.
- Support organisations which help journalists. Some of these are listed below.
Organisations:
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) This non -profit supports journalists who are imprisoned, harrassed or threatened and also promotes legal and regulatory frameworks to protect journalists, raise awareness and fight censorship
The International Centre for Journalists (ICJ) trains and supports journalists worldwide who work in conflict zones. It also supports independent journalism with respect to under reported issues such as human rights abuses, climate change and conflicts
ProPublica produces investigative journalism with respect to issues such as transparency, accountability in the public interest
Free Press Unlimited Offers a number of resources for journalists in distress
This post is dedicated to all the journalists and publishers who have died or otherwise been silenced trying to bring the truth to light.
Comments