Essay On Independent Media

The Role of Independent Media and Journalism in Today’s Peace-Making and Conflict Resolution The role of media gradually increases in the present society, especially now that freedom of expression and freedom of the press displays an evidently great effect on development, democracy and discourse. Information is a powerful tool and insight has a huge impact on public discussion. Thus, views on a certain matter can be changed by access to media. Various types of media are developed to distribute knowledge worldwide. Consequently, effective media is an essential part in any culture of resolution, and it is a key for groups trying to make a change towards peace and equality. “You can never get all the facts from just one newspaper, and unless you have all the facts, you cannot make proper judgments about what is going on”– this statement by Harry S. Truman reflects the necessity for a free access to balanced and unbiased information. Not letting people to express themselves and depriving them

In this context, journalists can be deemed as the aide of all human rights defenders for they have committed themselves to moral standards in reporting as well as to dealing with important topics in way that can be productive for everyone involved. Therefore non-democratic governments try to harass and even kill journalists in order to keep them in line and prevent them from exposing misconduct and abuse of power. In a seminar and workshop held in Polytechnic University of the Philippines recently, Ms. Alma Anonas-Carpio shared her own experience and advised Journalism students to “not take unnecessary risks while covering a dangerous situation” because it is important to be alive to be able to tell the story and that “never assume that conflict reporting is just about embedding with the military or rebels in a war zone--it may be calamity coverage, or a shootout/fracas in the urban areas of