Press freedom – here and in the US
WE share the concern voiced by the American press, expressed in newspaper editorials all over the country, condemning President Donald Trump’s attacks on “fake news” and his calling the press the “enemy of the people.” Both the Philippine and US constitutions have the same provision that no law may be passed “abridging freedom of speech or of the press.”
At the same time, however, we must cite the American president for not taking any actual step to stop any newspaper from coming out with news or opinion. This is something we suffered under martial law starting in 1972, when the Philippines’ main national newspapers were closed down.
President Trump has long been critical of the American press, claiming much of its news was fake when this merely was unflattering to him or his actions and policies. He was especially critical of the New York Times and the Washington Post, two of America’s most respected newspapers. At one time in 2017, he tweeted that “the fake news media” – and he named the nation’s top television news networks – “is the enemy of the American people.”
Last Thursday, the Boston Globe invited newspapers around the country to stand up for the press and nearly 350 news organizations pledged to participate, plus the Guardian of London.
In its editorial launching the campaign, the Boston Globe said, “The greatness of America is dependent on the role of a free press to speak the truth to the powerful.” The Radio Television Digital News Association, representing over 1,200 broadcasters and websites, asked its members to point out that journalists are doing important work holding government accountable.
At the center of all this controversy is the ideal of freedom to speak out, to report what is deemed significant, to voice an opinion in a free society. President Trump is himself protected by this basic right in all his tweets, in all his unconventional expressions of opinion sometimes directed at other countries and their leaders, and in his rejection of all unflattering press reports as “fake news.”
As pointed out earlier, we share this ideal of press freedom. This is among the positive results of the 50 years of our colonial experience under the US, following 350 years under Spain. Except for the years we suffered under martial law, the Philippine press has been free. And our own society and culture – and our government as well – have been tolerant of opposing views, confident that ultimately the truth will prevail.