We cannot deny the fact that responsible, professional, and independent media is the ultimate backbone of a democracy. In a democratic society, a free press plays the most important role. It enables the open exchange of opinions and information among governments, political parties, citizen associations, businesses, and ordinary citizens. The press must have proper freedom and here, we are going to talk about World Press Freedom Day. This is the event that people across Canada observe on 3rd May. They celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom for evaluating press freedom across the globe. Apart from this, people observe this day to highlight major problems that the press across the globe is facing day by day. Defending the media from various attacks, paying tribute to the journalists who lost their lives while doing their duty are some other key objectives of World Press Freedom Day.
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.
Edward R. Murrow
World Press Freedom Day And Its Significance
It was the United Nations General Assembly that declared 3rd May as the World Press Freedom Day. This day is also known as World Press Day. Talking about the celebration, well, it is all about raising awareness about the need for freedom in the press. This event reminds governments across the globe of their duties. They need to come forward to justify the right to freedom of expression. This event played a solid contribution to the promotion of press freedom across the world.
Well, talking about the theme of World Press Freedom Day 2021, it is actually “Information as a Public Good”. It represents information as a public good. The theme refers to the ways of exploration that can be done in the reception, distribution, and production of content. The main objective is to strengthen journalism and advance empowerment and transparency while leaving nothing behind. The theme is also recognizing the changes that have come into the communication system. The theme is showing how it is impacting sustainable development, democracies, human rights, and health.
Well, World Press Freedom Day 2021 highlights three main topics. These are as follows:
- Ensuring the economic permanence of press.
- Highlighting the mechanisms that basically ensure the transparency of the internet companies.
- Encouraging people so that they come forward to value and recognize journalism. People need to demand as well as defend journalism.
World Press Freedom Day is a remarkable event that gives us a gentle reminder about the condition of the press. Publications are closed down, suspended, fined, and censored. Moreover, publishers, editors, and journalists are facing harassment, detention, attack, and many more. Therefore, this is the day when government and other organizations should step forward to start some efficient initiatives in favor of press freedom.
Understand The Need Of Press Freedom In This World Press Freedom Day
Before talking about the need for press freedom, you must understand that the democratic system is a widely embraced system. It allows the people to choose candidates through a proper voting system. Now, in this system, media or the press plays the most important role. They show the picture of the nation to the public and apart from this, they highlight the current issues that the public is facing. In order to run a nation smoothly, you need help from unbiased media. Unbiased media refers to an ecosystem where journalists, publishers, and editors have complete freedom to work. The press creates a bridge of communication between the people and government. If it does not work with proper freedom, the entire ecosystem of a nation will get affected.
There are certain factors that affect the freedom of the press. These are as follows:
- Corporate Sector: Apart from governments, corporate sectors control the media. Corporate leaders pay reporters, writers, and editors so that they promote their businesses.
- Political Parties: We cannot deny the fact that journalists are killed for uncovering certain facts that cause damage to certain political parties. Therefore, the press has to work under the strong influence of political parties. It brings damage to the overall democratic system.
Observe The World Press Freedom Day
As of now, you have understood how important World Press Freedom Day is. So, there are ways to observe this day. At present, running social media campaign about the objectives of this day will be a great idea. This is how you can encourage a lot of people to come forward and support press freedom. You can ask the government and policymakers to do something in favor of the press by conducting various campaigns online as well as offline.
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