“When the public’s right to know is threatened, and when the rights of free speech and free press at risk, all of the other liberties we hold dear are endangered.” quoted Christopher Dodd. For many, many years, freedom of the press has been a notably controversial topic to be discussed. Some believe that the public has a right to know, while others waver that journalists should be limited on what they can write about. The real question is, should journalists be allowed the right of freedom of the press or should their writing be able to be censored if the topic is viewed as unacceptable? Although governments might have national security concerns or politicians might prefer to not listen to dissenting viewpoints, the assault on the freedom of …show more content…
For example, in India there was an era known as the “Emergency” in the 1970’s. Freedom of the Press is a right that is guaranteed to the public in India’s constitution, but during this era Prime Minister Indira was censoring and imprisoning journalists that wrote unfavorable articles about him and the government. The abuse of Freedom of the Press is still under attack to this day in India. Loyalists to the country’s Hindu Prime Minister have verbally attacked journalists into taking down articles that expose the country’s true faults. Also, some of these loyalists file criminal complaints that can result in jail time for journalists in India (Gowen). Governments all over the world are worried about censoring what is written about by journalists, but they are only concerned about how the government looks in the public’s eyes. Conversely, some governments might have some strong arguments against freedom of the press, they are still hiding information from the …show more content…
“According to Freedom House, only 13% of the world's population enjoys a free press and media freedom is becoming weaker in modern, pluralist democracies, such as Canada and New Zealand,” (Serrano) Taking away the right of freedom to write about what a person feels should be discussed, denies our society the access to solutions that could benefit our communities. When a person’s creativity is kept inside a box, our world has no room to grow as a nation. By telling journalists what they can and cannot write about, it isn’t allowing them to share information they feel is valuable. If people aren’t allowed to share certain bits of information, it is only going to hurt our world in the end. For example, if the people who found cures for cancer weren’t allowed to speak up, our nation would be dying off due to cancer. When creativity in a journalists writing is taken away, it isn’t allowing the journalist freedom of expression. These topic are only the tip of iceberg when it comes to the debate of freedom of the press, but gave you a little insight on what is truly happening in our society to writers. (Matsheza) The attack governments put on the freedom of the press should be ended because it robs the public of information they should have access to , freedom of the press is in the U.S. Constitution, and it inhibits creativity in many diverse aspects. By taking on the power of helping end the issue against
Stories are no longer respectable and virtuous as they were at modern journalism’s beginning. Thus, by journalists Fallows and Rothman have named the media as unethical. Another way that modern journalists have transformed today’s media is that the media now relies on the popularity of its stories and articles. Journalist Jack Shafer uses his article, “The Rise and the Fall of the Obama Media Romance” as an example of popular opinion reflecting
People who are talented or interested in writing is able to without hindering anyone in the attempt of trying. In this society, groups of people who would like to publish articles such as a newspaper, need to have enough readers subscribed
Media that could reflect the real America should be based on diversity of views, pluralism of opinion as the American society. First of all, when someone provides the truth of the actual situation, that person is automatically called a “whistle blower”. There are not many of those people, which are willing to expose all secrets that would benefit the society by finding out the actual story. As Goldberg elaborates in his insider book, danger is a big risk factor to them, losing a job for example, takes a lot of courage or foolishness to do that. Goldberg states that it should be normal common sense for the media give accurate information, which surprisingly does not happened in
Hamilton seems to think that oppression of freedom of speech and freedom of the press is the greatest threat to liberty. And history has proven him correct. When freedom of speech and freedom of the press are stifled, the ability of the people to communicate about and discuss urgent problems is stifled. This, in turn, stifles the ability of the people to correct said problems.
Without freedom of the press discussions cannot reach a wider audience, debate is obstructed,
I believe that the author’s thesis is about the issue of censorship and how it impacts our First Amendment. The author presents us a two different perspective of the issue. Such as, our practice of our First Amendment can lead us to a place where someone can create materials that we may find offensive. But are protected by the First Amendment at the same time could have people who want to limit offensive material and therefore, through censorship are limiting the First Amendment rights of others. To demonstrate her point, Susan Jacoby, interviewed a small sample of women to gather their perspective about an image from a Playboy magazine.
writing prompt #6: Explain why the media has been called the fourth branch of government. Include your opinion of whether this is an accurate portrayal. Media is considered the fourth branch of government, but why? Media influences lives on the daily and can influence governmental thoughts, opinions , and decisions as well. Because of this it could be used for or against the government.
Governments keep things classified in fear that if they tell the citizens it would cause rebellions or conflict. Wars are fought over conflicting opinions killing innocent people on either side. Countries like North Korea keep their citizens secluded from the outside world like the government in Montag’s world keeps people from information about the war that is going on. In some countries, freedom of speech and freedom of the press is limited. In those countries, the people only know what the government allows them to know.
Censorship in America can vary between the silencing of young voices and the prevention of exposing others of inappropriate material. Many people are afraid of losing their freedom of speech, as first amendment rights should be mandatory for American citizens. Polar to this argument insists the importance of censorship, as it can shield the public from information that can lead to fear or chaos. Leaving students ignorant to world problems, however, is argued by Sonja West that it removes their first amendment rights and creates a future working-class of Americans who are clouded from the truth. West is a law professor at the University of Georgia who is distinguished for her expertise in the first amendment law and minor in journalism.
The JFK Assassination was and is still a controversial topic in the U.S. On Friday, November 22, 1963, in Texas, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by a man named Oswald. Conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of JFK are a healthy bi-product of a democratic society showing that the people of the U.S. are well informed when they do such things as questioning the government about its representation of the assassination. A conspiracy theory is another perspective of what really happened at many of the most important events that have ever happened in the US; Like the JFK assassination.
For instance, Raphael Cohen-Almador asserts that the media need not stay neutral when values and institutions of democracy are threatened and attacked (Cohen-Almador, 2008). He believes that a person can combine his or her civil position and professional journalism. Simultaneously this statement is debatable and denies the main rules of impartial journalism. Nevertheless, David Brewer from Media helping Media would not agree with such view. In one of his articles for International journalists’ network he says that journalists should “keep their own opinions firmly under wraps” (Brewer,
A media source which ignores or censors important issues and events severely damages freedom of information. Many modern tabloids, twenty four hour news channels and other mainstream media sources have increasingly been criticized for not conforming to general standards of journalistic integrity. In nations described as authoritarian by most international think-tanks and NGOs media ownership is generally something very close to the complete state control over information in direct or indirect ways. Undesirable consequences which occur due to media imperialism are: • Commercially driven ultra-powerful mass market media is primarily loyal to sponsors i.e. advertisers and government rather than to the public interest.
It devotes vast energy and resources to control information as a way to maintain social stability and assert political control. The Chinese government’s sophisticated instruments of censorship and control aim to prevent all potential sources of independent reporting. The comprehensive management consists of three main categories: legal, political, and economic. Legal methods create an environment that is unfriendly to press freedom through restrictive laws and regulations, including the structure of official media regulatory
But the positive interaction of government-press-society does not mean that each party must lose the function of its functional idealism. For if each existence is not approached with independent and interdependent responsibilities and obligations, it can be ascertained that each party will not be able to assume its rights and responsibilities. It means that the government should be given authority, as an authorized and responsible body to regulate the interests and spheres of its citizens. The press must remain authorized to carry out its distinctive social control functions.
Furthermore, in many developing countries or in those with oppressive regimes, government actions are more important than the Internet in defining how information is produced and consumed, and by whom. There are so many counties that use strict censorship in their media. “Present-day examples include Russia as a territorially shrunken successor state to the former USSR, China and North Korea” (Höchli, 2010). Censorship in North Korea is known to be the most intense among the world. With a government such as theirs, they are able to take strict control over communications.