Freedom of the Press

Freedom of the press is a type of freedom of expression. Two factors make it different from freedom of speech. First, since it involves publication, there ordinarily is an interval of time between composition and public dissemination. If governmental authorities learn of the impending publication of material they wish to keep from the public, they have a period of time in which to act. Even in the broadcast area of the media, there usually is a script or even a tape of the story made before it is put on the air. Second, while speech is often done by a lone individual, the press is mostly made up of organizations—newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and television stations.

justifications for press freedom

Every citizen, including those who write for and edit publications, enjoys a fundamental human right to impart and receive information. In addition, a free press is an important check on government. Governments usually want their citizens to believe that those in power are wise and trustworthy, and that their policies are working flawlessly. Thus, they customarily expend a good bit of energy trying to let the public know how well things are going. However, a free press will find its own sources of information and report what is actually happening. By exposing misguided policies, incompetence, dishonesty, and corruption, a free press helps to hold government accountable.

This possibility is, in fact, what makes governments so sensitive about press freedom. Every government wants the press to portray it in a positive light, and the only way they can guarantee that is by regulation or outright control.

three important distinctions

There is an important difference between the print side of the press and the broadcast side. Newspapers and magazines can be produced without limit, and often at a fairly low cost. Radio and television outlets, however, rely on the allocation of broadcast frequencies, which almost have to be regulated by government to prevent chaos. Through its involvement in assigning frequencies, the government automatically has more control over radio and television than over the print media.

Second, there is a difference between the freedom to express opinions and the freedom to publish facts. Those who defend freedom of the press agree that opinions should be printed without hindrance. However, facts are another matter. Sometimes there are facts that could damage national security if made public (disclosure of "cutting edge" military technology, for example). Outside the area of national security, in most modern societies governments control many facts that may be needed for the public to make informed judgments about candidates for office, or whether certain policies are having their intended impact. Examples include the health effects of certain prescription drugs, the effects of pesticides, the treatment of prisoners, and automobile safety tests. The degree to which the press should be able to demand access to such information is a matter of debate.

Finally, although a connection exists between democracy (governments chosen by open and fair elections) and freedom of the press, no universal correlation exists between democracy and press freedom. Some non-elected governments allow freedom of the press, and there have been times when democratically elected governments have moved to silence the press.

prior restraint

Even in countries with the strongest protections for freedom of the press, newspapers and other media outlets are not immune from prosecution for what they publish. If they cause harm to someone—such as the loss of a job—and if what they published was false, the press can be held financially responsible for committing libel. Furthermore, every country has laws prohibiting the sharing of legitimate military and security secrets. If material of this type came into the possession of a newspaper and they chose to publish it, they might well find themselves facing criminal charges.

The more important question is whether the government can engage in prior restraint and prohibit the publication of such information beforehand. The United States provides a good example of the issues involved in prior restraint. The Constitution's First Amendment provides that: "Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom … of the press." During the Vietnam War (1964–1975), a stolen copy of a government report on the war (the so-called "Pentagon Papers") was given to the New York Times. The president's advisers learned of the newspaper's possession of the document. Alleging that it contained sensitive national security information, they asked the federal courts to issue an order forbidding its publication. The Supreme Court refused to issue the order, saying that any request for prior restraint would have to prove beyond any doubt that irreparable harm would follow publication. Thus, in the United States it is exceedingly difficult for the government to obtain prior restraint.

However, there is one important exception. Under some circumstance, a trial judge may issue a "gag order" to the press. Securing a fair trial is such an important value that it may trump the right of the press to publish information about the trial, even if that information might be of interest to the public.

The attempt by Third World governments to establish a New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) in the 1970s was an important threat to freedom of the press. Some of this program's backers, although not all, had benign motives, which illustrates that purity of motive does not always guarantee purity of outcome.

In support of NWICO, many less developed countries argued that the dominance of world media by Western communications organizations produced a one-way flow of messages from developed to developing nations that tended to paint a distorted picture of them. When less developed nations were not ignored, which was most of the time, their failures were emphasized while their accomplishments were downplayed. The former Soviet Union and its satellites joined in this critique.

While the accusing governments were trying to challenge the dominance of the Western press in the international realm, they were arguing for what they called "development journalism" in their own nations. According to this argument, the overriding goal of Third World governments was to secure economic development. Accordingly, all national resources, including the mass media, should be marshaled toward that end. In short, government must control the press for the greater good until a certain level of economic development was reached, at which time the "luxury" of a free press could be granted.

At the 1976 meeting of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a group of these nations proposed making all governments "responsible for the activities in the international sphere of all mass media under their jurisdiction ." (Sussman 2003, 15). Then, they sought to establish a legal "right to reply" to any objectionable coverage. Such an approach would have had serious repercussions for freedom of the press. After a number of acrimonious meetings over several years that led the United States and the United Kingdom to temporarily withdraw from UNESCO, the proposal was finally put to rest. The issues behind the dispute remain, however, and there are periodic calls in international forums for a resurrected NWICO.

techniques of control

The most severe restrictions on freedom of the press occur in those countries that have laws that explicitly forbid freedom of the press and provide severe punishment for anyone breaking them. This usually is combined with outright government ownership of all media. Examples include Iraq under Saddam Hussein (b. 1937), and sometimes communist China.

Short of such draconian measures, governments have utilized a variety of laws to keep the press docile and cooperative. For example, some countries have "security laws." These measures make it a crime to publish anything damaging to national security. National security is then defined so broadly that almost anything (news about a rise in prices, a housing shortage, and so forth) can be construed as falling under its rubric. Another approach is the enactment of "insult laws" that forbid the insulting of a public official. Under these acts, even the slightest criticism can be deemed an insult. Finally, some countries have passed laws requiring "responsible journalism." While it is true that the press can be irresponsible, when government officials are able to decide what is sober, reflective journalism and what is unmerited ranting, the formula for intimidation is firmly in place.

Some nations also have experimented with laws that require journalists to procure a license from the government. This scenario does not necessarily allow only pro-government journalists to work. For example, Costa Rica—a relatively free society—once had a journalists' license law. However, such a law can easily be manipulated to accomplish that end.

Even without legal sanctions , there are other ways to create a more pliable press. Sadly, a common one is to have police or unofficial militias detain, abuse, or threaten journalists who probe into sensitive areas. A softer approach is to use economic pressure, such as the placing of government ads in friendly papers but not elsewhere.

new world information and communication order (nwico)

The New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) is a phrase that was popularized by a 1980 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report called "Many Voices, One World." Although NWICO was never precisely defined, the term reflected the belief that transnational corporations' domination of mass media threatened national identity and self-respect in developing countries. The "Many Voices" report was issued by the MacBride Commission, chaired by the Irish politician Seán MacBride. The report was highly controversial in its recommendations that developing countries should have the right to control the content of news reports about themselves; that journalists should be licensed and asked to subscribe to a code of conduct; and that communications resources should be redistributed.

Most Western journalists were opposed to NWICO on the grounds that it represented a threat to freedom of the press, particularly the freedom to report unfavorable news about developing countries. Other experts pointed out that better distribution of media technology would not automatically fix the economic and political problems of the poorer nations. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore withdrew from UNESCO in response to the MacBride report—although the United Kingdom eventually rejoined in 1997, followed by the United States in 2003.

The rise of the Internet has reopened the 1980s debates about NWICO. The February 2005 UNESCO conference on "Freedom of Expression in Cyberspace" renewed journalists' concerns that the United Nations wants to control the Internet in order to impose global censorship rules.

international statements

Freedom of the press has been written into a variety of international agreements. The most widely applicable one is the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted in 1948. It provides that "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to … receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." (Article 19). The European Convention on Human Rights, adopted in 1950, holds that "Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers." However, it adds that "This article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises." (Article 10). In 1978 most Western Hemisphere nations signed the American Convention on Human Rights. One of its provisions stated: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought and expression. This includes freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing, in print, in the form of art, or through any other medium of one's choice." (Article 13)

The methods used to enforce these documents vary. The United Nations relies on a largely ineffective body of fifty-three nations called the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to study complaints and issue reports. The European Convention created a multinational court to which individuals in the affected countries may bring actions. Most of the signatory countries have incorporated the convention into their domestic law, giving the court's decisions legal status inside a country. Therefore, in many cases the actions of governments have been overturned and implementation has followed. The American Convention is enforced by a hybrid. There is an Inter-American Commission that investigates complaints and makes recommendations. If satisfaction is not obtained, there is the Inter-American Court on Human Rights. Although it has had some successes to its credit, the American Convention is not incorporated into the domestic law of the signatories. Therefore, national governments are free to ignore it if they so choose.

government versus private action

In addition to the actions of governments, private actions also are used to silence the press. In some instances, militant religious or ideological groups threaten or even kill journalists. In others, economic pressure is brought to bear. Depending on the circumstances, these factors can be very effective. Governments sometimes move to protect the press. However, at other times private groups may be acting with the acquiescence or even the support of the government.

long-term trends

Despite numerous instances where freedom of the press has been denied in the contemporary world, long-run trends have been favorable. At the beginning of the twentieth century, colonial powers controlled much of Africa and Asia, and granted little freedom of any kind. Throughout Eastern Europe and the Middle East, old-fashioned autocracies of one sort or another ruled and freedom of the press was unheard of. The press situation in most of Latin America also was quite precarious. Only in a handful of Western nations was there anything approaching a free press, and it often was rather restricted by contemporary standards.

The 1930s to the 1980s witnessed the rise of ruthless totalitarian states such as Nazi Germany, Joseph Stalin's (1879–1953) Soviet Union, Mao Tse-tung's (1893–1976) China, and a variety of imitators. As previously noted, many of the Third World's newly independent states practiced "development journalism" after World War II (post-1945).

By the 1990s, freedom of the press was making inroads almost everywhere. The collapse of communism opened the doors to press freedom in many places formerly under Soviet rule. While some of the successor states (Turkmenistan in particular) have developed into dictatorships and some (such as Ukraine and Russia) have since moved to restrict freedom of the press, the situation is still more fluid than in the past. Russian President Vladimir Putin (b. 1952) closed the last independent television station in early 2003, and print journalists have been intimidated on a number of occasions. However, even Putin felt obliged to meet with leaders of the European Union (EU) in 2001 and agreed that "Freedom of speech and pluralism in the media are essential democratic principles and core values for a genuine EU-Russia partnership" (freedomforum.org, 2001).

There also has been a decided change in thinking about economic development, with the new orthodoxy being that a free press is a necessary ingredient for, and not a barrier to, economic growth. Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Seen (b. 1933), stated that freedom of the press is "an integral component of development." (Sussman 2003, 27). The World Bank also has taken the position that a press free of government ownership will aid economic development.

At the same time there has been growth in Freedom of Information laws, or statutes that allow journalists to obtain information more readily from government agencies. Great Britain, which long resisted such a law, has now enacted one. Mexico also adopted such a measure in 2000.

During the early twenty-first century, there still were places around the world where the press was not free, where citizens could not impart or receive information freely, and where there virtually were no checks on government. In addition, the impact of terrorist attacks on established democracies was a potential threat to press freedom. Even so, the long-run trend seems to favor the expansion of press freedom.

See also: Censorship; Freedom of Expression; Freedom of Information; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

bibliography

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Jerold Waltman