Tuesday, May 23, 2023
One of the most important cornerstones of any democracy, apart from free elections, freedom of speech, and freedom of movement, is freedom of the press! In fact, in my opinion, it is the second most important freedom. We take a lot for granted; living in countries that are democratic, we get comfortable in the knowledge that we are not oppressed. That doesn’t include economic oppression; that’s everywhere, especially for those who are lost in the cycle of chronic poverty, poor education, or because of geographic locations. But for the most part we take our way of life for granted.
The press, the media, is there to inform us about the state of our communities, our government, our nation. They cover crime and politics and business, civics, and every piece of news that keeps us informed, and prepared, to face another day. They are there to root out corruption, report on the injustices in their communities. They keep us abreast of all occurrences, good and bad! And the most important function that they have to perform, or should, is to always be honest with us. Opinion writers can lean one way or the other, that’s expected, but the truth in news should never be watered down, or compromised!
There are libel laws in some democracies, libel laws that protect public and elected officials from criticism or from rumors of wrongdoing, unless those rumors are absolute facts. In the United States, I can say whatever I want about the President, or senators, or Congress, or any elected official, true or false, without fear of being sued. They are public officials and therefore must accept the criticisms or innuendos or gossip that are hurled their way! Private citizens, on the other hand, can sue anyone who libels them, including the President! I like it that way; if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen, or don’t get into politics.
There was a case recently down south, concerning a doctor allegedly being sexually inappropriate with his patients, and some public officials, some elected, did not like the naked manner in which the story was being reported by the media. They were not arguing about the facts, but about the way in which this unfortunate incident was being reported. They didn’t reach out to, or defend, the alleged victim of this horrendous patient abuse at the time, but made veiled threats that to me were alarming, threats to the press!
When you start suggesting to the press that their freedom of expression is limited because you don’t like the way they report a story, you are going down a slippery slope that can lead to suppression. If a story is graphic, if a story is not seditious, malicious, gossip or yeri so, but based on the truth, threats should not be made by those in power! That leads to curtailing the rights of the media, or the methods the media may use to report that story. Every society needs a reliable press to keep them informed. The mere suggestion of censure is unacceptable! That is how you begin to lose your individual freedoms! A very slippery slope, indeed.
Glen