Free press is free of political interference
DURING the tyranny of the Soviet era, Russian citizens used to whisper a subversive joke about the country’s two main newspapers, Pravda and Izvestia. Pravda, meaning ‘‘truth’’, was the voice of the Communist Party, while Izvestia, meaning ‘‘news’’, was the voice of the Soviet government.
‘‘There is no truth in news,’’ went the grim gag, ‘‘and no news in truth.’’
It was a dark commentary on the fact the Soviet authorities had latched on to one of the most powerful tools of oppression: shackle the press, and you shackle the people.
It is a tactic that has been used by tyrants throughout history, and one that is sadly used in many countries around the world today.
May 3 is World Press Freedom Day, an annual event set aside by Unesco in 1993 to celebrate the value of a free news media and the role it plays in democracy. It also aims to highlight the terrible dangers faced by journalists in countries where governments, criminal gangs, corrupt officials and other forces for evil seek to cow them into submission.
Every year scores of journalists pay the ultimate price for seeking to expose the truth. According to the United States-based Committee to Protect Journalists, 982 have been killed as a result of their work since 1992. The death toll for 2013 already stands at 17, just 122 days into the year. The committee reports that a further 232 journalists worldwide are in prison.
It is no coincidence that the countries that have the highest rates of murdered or imprisoned journalists and which score lowest on press freedom indexes also have the poorest records on human, civil and political rights.
A free press has long been recognised as a vital cornerstone of democracy and an important watchdog in the rule of law. Dictators and criminals who see those values as barriers to their quests for power and riches have an obvious interest in destroying media organisations and journalists that seek to uphold them.
Kiwis are fortunate to live in a country where the press operates with few constraints. Again, it is no coincidence that New Zealand and other countries that sit at the top of press freedom indexes are also those ranked each year as being the least corrupt.
A key reason the print media here has been able to operate so effectively is the system of self-regulation, which has allowed it to set and adjudicate standards free from political control.
Fortunately, the Law Commission has recognised the value of the press regulating itself. Its recent report into regulatory gaps in new media, largely prompted by concerns about the proliferation of online news sites and the increasing internet presence of mainstream outlets, has come down in favour of a single new regulatory body to set and apply consistent standards across all news producers.
Crucially, it would be independent of government and not established by legislation. By recommending against a statutory framework for the body, the commission has recognised that one of the most fundamental principles underpinning a free press is its very freedom from political interference.