scholarly journals Freedom of the Press – Two Concepts

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Meckl

In 1644 the debate for freedom of expression started in modern times thanks to John Milton’s Areopagitica, where he still argued about God in order to justify his quest for freedom. With the enlightenment God lost his unifying role for society and could no longer serve as justification. Two arguments were brought then forward to justify freedom of the press: One by the continental movement of the enlightenment; the other from within the movement of utilitarianism, and most influentially by John Stuart Mill. Both underlined the importance of truth; however, they differed in their understanding on what truth was good for. This difference in their arguments had a lasting impact on the debate on the limits of freedom of the press.

Author(s):  
Mariateresa Garrido

To be a journalist in Venezuela is very dangerous. In the past decade, there has been an increase of attacks against media and their personnel. On the one hand, attacks against journalists include harassment (physical, digital, legal), illegal detentions, kidnapping, and assassination. On the other hand, digital media have experienced blockages (DNS), internet shutdowns and slow-downs, failures in the connection, and restrictions to access internet-based platforms and content. Since 2014, the situation is deteriorating and limitations to exercise the right to freedom of expression have increased. However, this issue remains understudied; hence, this chapter considers primary and secondary data to analyze the types of limitations experienced by Venezuelan digital journalists from 2014 to 2018, explains the effects of ambiguous regulations and the use of problematic interpretations, and describes the inadequacies of national policies to promote freedom of the press.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-361
Author(s):  
Haresti Asysy Amrihani ◽  
Rajab Ritonga

Freedom of the press regulations are adhered to by various countries, including Indonesia and Sweden. Every nation wants their country to be free, and uphold freedom of expression and human rights. Sweden is the first country to regulate freedom of expression by enacting Freedom of the Press Act in 1766, while Indonesia has so far implemented Law No. 40 of 1999 on the Press. This article highlights how freedom of the press is implemented in Indonesia so that its index of democracy and freedom of the press is equal to that of Sweden.  This research applies a literature study method and uses secondary data from various books, journals and legislations. The researcher concludes that some groups encourage the revision of Law No. 40 of 1999 with certain conditions, while others are opposed to it. The other groups stated that the law is lex specialis derogate legi geneari and is used in case of press dispute so that journalists can no longer be imprisoned due to their profession.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ružica Kijevčanin ◽  

In this paper, the author starts from the thesis that freedom of expression, which is best reflected in freedom of the press, as the central public media of the time, was a clear indicator of the level of development of the newly created Yugoslav society. The press in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was a clear example of existing social antagonisms. Although the Vidovdan Constitution paid attention to this fundamental human freedom, classifying it as a political right of citizens, the manner of its regulation and practical application indicated limitations, immaturity and unwillingness of society to face its own weaknesses, ie the weaknesses of the ruling establishment, but also all important political factors. According to the letter of the constitution, freedom of the press is guaranteed, but with restrictions. These restrictions, such as the possibility of introducing censorship in cases provided by law, clearly raised the question of whether the existence of freedom of expression could be discussed at all in this period. The enjoyment of freedom of the press was concretized by a later law which found a foothold in the Constitution. Historical facts most faithfully reflect the situation in this area, but also the importance of the issue, through reflection on everyday political, cultural, educational, economic and social relations. After 100 years, the violation of freedom of the press is referred to as a violation of media freedom, which means that restrictions and violations of the rules have not been eradicated, but only shaped into new terminology, ie a new appearance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Iman Mohamed Zahra ◽  
Hosni Mohamed Nasr

'The right to know' represents a fundamental and vital human right. Progress and development of nations fully require information freedom and knowledge sharing. Using a qualitative analysis of a sample of information and press laws in most of Arab states, this paper aims at discussing 'the right to know' from different perspectives while highlighting the surrounding aspects and their consequences on the right of freedom of expression in those states. The paper also tends to clarify the effects of new media on the vision and practices of governments regarding 'the right to know' and the freedom of the press in the digital age. Moreover, the paper analyzes the different types of censorship the Arab states use to control the new media. Findings shed light on different aspect of 'the right to know' within the different challenges of the digital age and clarify the strong bondage of this right with the other human rights, especially freedom of expression and freedom of the press.


2019 ◽  
Vol 02 (04) ◽  
pp. 1950024
Author(s):  
James M. Dorsey

Underlying global efforts to counter fake news, psychological warfare and manipulation of public opinion is a far more fundamental battle: the global campaign by civilizationalists, illiberals, autocrats and authoritarians to create a new world media order that would reject freedom of the press and reduce the fourth estate to scribes and propaganda outlets. The effort appears to have no limits. Its methods range from seeking to reshape international standards defining freedom of expression and the media; the launch and/or strengthening of government-controlled global, regional, national and local media in markets around the world; government acquisition of stakes in privately-owned media; advertising in independent media dependent on advertising revenue; funding of think-tanks; demonization; coercion; repression; and even assassination. The effort to create a new media world order is closely linked to attempts to a battle between liberals and non-liberals over concepts of human rights, the roll-out of massive Chinese surveillance systems in China and beyond and a contest between the United States and China for dominance of the future of technology. The stakes in these multiple battles could not be higher. They range from basic human and minority rights to issues of transparency, accountability and privacy, human rights, the role of the fourth estate as an independent check on power, freedom of expression and safeguards for human and physical dignity. The battles are being waged in an environment in which a critical mass of world leaders appears to have an unspoken consensus on the principles of governance that should shape a new world order. Men like Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Victor Orbán, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mohammed bin Salman, Mohammed bin Zayed, Narendra Modi, Rodrigo Duterte, Jair Bolsonaro, Win Myint and Donald J. Trump have all to varying degrees diluted the concepts of human rights and undermined freedom of the press. If anything, it is this tacit understanding among the world’s foremost leaders that in shaping a new world order constitutes the greatest threat to liberal values.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-65
Author(s):  
Fianka Aiza ◽  
Lena Farsia

This study analyses how Indonesia enforces the law to protect the freedom of the press for foreign journalists and imposes strict visa regulations on them. The method used to conduct this research is the normative legal method. This study shows that Indonesia upholds human rights such as freedom of expression, but there are no specific legal rules to uphold such rights over foreign journalists. Rules are only available on the enactment of a journalistic visa. Therefore, it is recommended for Indonesia's Lawmakers to compose a new Law to uphold the rights and obligations of foreign journalists while they are in Indonesia and develop a monitoring body for foreign journalists so that Indonesia can ensure the protection of freedom of the press and the national security. Keywords: Foreign journalists; Freedom of Press; Journalistic Visa.


Author(s):  
Jens Elo Rytter

QUAL LIBERDADE DE IMPRENSA? A IMPRENSA CONCEBIDA COMO UM “FÓRUM ABERTO” OU COMO UM “CÃO DE GUARDA PRIVILEGIADO” WHICH FREEDOM OF THE PRESS? THE PRESS CONCEIVED AS AN 'OPEN FORUM' OR A 'PRIVILEGED WATCHDOG'  RESUMO: O artigo examina o significado histórico e contemporâneo de “liberdade de imprensa” no direito constitucional e nos direitos humanos. Existem duas concepções diferentes, a concepção restrita define a liberdade de imprensa como a liberdade de cada um para publicar sem censura prévia, a concepção mais ampla define-a como uma liberdade privilegiada da imprensa organizada para reunir e informar sobre informações de interesse público. Essas duas concepções têm respostas muito diferentes para a questão de saber se a imprensa deve desfrutar de algum privilégio de isenção da legislação ordinária, quando tal legislação restringe o limite da imprensa para informar o público a respeito de questões de interesse público. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Liberdade de imprensa; Liberdade de expressão; Regulação da mídia; Privilégios da imprensa. ABSTRACT: The article surveys the historical and current meaning of "Freedom of the Press" in constitutional and human rights law. Two different conceptions exist, the narrow one defining freedom of the press as the freedom of every one to publish without prior restraint, the broader one defining it as a privileged freedom of the organised press to gather and report on information of public interest. These two conceptions have very different answers to the question of whether the press should enjoy some privilege to be exempt from ordinary legislation when such legislation restricts the access of the press to inform the public on matters of public interest. KEYWORDS: Freedom of the press; Freedom of expression; Media regulation; Press Privileges.


Rechtsidee ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Sri Ayu Astuti

Freedom of expression and press freedom is the embodiment of the recognition of human rights. Freedom of expression is also the existence of press to disclose the news with honesty and do not get a pressure to deliver the news to the public space, which in news production is known as a work of journalism. Now the  press has gained freedom of expression in the news production process which is guaranteed in the state constitution. Although Article 28 of the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia 1945 does not point directly at the press, However, Article 28 F emphasis on processing and storage as well as ownership, excavations to information. It also contains provisions on the freedom of expression of others, which should be valued and respected. It shows equality for everyone in his position before the law in accordance with Article 27 1945 Constitution, which emphasizes the recognition of constitutional rights that belong to every person in the state of law in the Republic of Indonesia. Thus the press, which have freedom of expression in the writings of journalistic works are required to be responsible for the published news. So as not to face the legal issues and criminalization, then press should perform tasks and functions to enforce ethics as the precautionary principle when processing the news and broadcast it to the public space, as well as upholding human rights. How To Cite: Astuti, S. (2014). Freedom of the Press In the Scope of Human Rights. Rechtsidee, 1(1), 101-118. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.21070/jihr.v1i1.96


Author(s):  
Wojciech Lis

Freedom of expression and freedom of the press form guarantee and emphasize the democratic character of a state. The dissemination of information and opinions is a prerequisite of democracy, which essentially requires that citizens be guaranteed the possibility to participate in public affairs. An opportunity to learn some information and opinions is of paramount importance for broadening knowledge, sharpening the critical mind, shaping one’s own views and making rational and informed choices. For full access to information and opinions circulating in the public, it is necessary that it should be made public and media and their journalists will make it in the best way.


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