A free media is very important in democratic politics. Some of the most important functions of a free press include:
1. Promoting transparency: An important role of the media is to closely watch political institutions to make sure they are keeping their promises and not breaking the law.
2. Informing the people, for instance during elections: The media gives people the chance to learn more about political issues, for instance during elections about the candidates and parties participating in an election.
3. Informing the government and political parties: The media can inform political actors about the opinions, needs and concerns of the people. This can help them to make policies that effectively address those needs and concerns.
These roles give the media a lot of power. This power allows media organisations to act as checks and balances on government power. However, it also means that citizens need to be very careful with the information they receive.
Freedom of the Press
To successfully carry out these roles in society, it is important that the media is free from government control. If journalists are not free to write what they want, the information presented will not help the government and the people understand each other. If the government censors the news, then the media loses its ability to promote transparency.
Some important requirements for a free media are:
• Pluralism in the media: If the majority of the media is owned by the government (or businesses who are controlled by the government), this limits the availability of different or critical opinions. Minority or opposition groups will have less opportunity to express their views in the media. This can lead to conflict and miscommunication between the government and the people.
• The government cannot control of threaten the media: There must be strict laws that prevent the government from bribing or threatening journalists. Unless these laws exist (and are followed), journalists who discover corruption or ineffectiveness in government can be influenced to keep quiet.
• Citizens need to be critical of the media: People need to know which interests a newspaper, website, radio or TV station is promoting. Citizens should be exposed to many different kinds of media so they can get a full and balanced picture of political issues before they make a decision.
• Professional Media: Journalists are independent, well trained, impartial in their coverage of important issues and events and adhere to a strict set of ethical standards.
Censorship
Many governments try to influence public opinion by controlling the media and access to information. They often do this to increase their popularity or to reduce support for opposition groups. Censorship limits people’s access to information about the state of the economy, political developments and other important issues. A highly controlled media can rob people of social awareness and balanced analysis.
Authoritarian regimes often place restrictions on freedom of expression. They claim that these are necessary to maintain stability and security. Examples of this include closing down the mobile phone network in Iran in mid-2009, and Egypt in late
2010. In other situations, governments try to stop journalists from reporting on controversial issues. For example, in 2009, journalists were forced to leave China’s north-western province of Xinjiang in order to prevent them reporting on the ethnic violence there.
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No Free Press = No Democracy The media is usually the most important way people find out about the election and the political choices. The media needs to be free to report fairly on the campaigns of all the political parties so people can determine if there are differences between them. The media needs to provide all the people with the same information on how to vote. And the media needs the freedom to ask questions and get answers about the transparency of the election, and to tell voters if there is something wrong so that it can be fixed. The media needs to hold both the government and opposition parties to account for how they have acted in the previous term. The people need to know how well the government has run the country since the last election, and what alternatives the opposition parties presented during that time. Did the government build all the bridg- es and schools it promised? Did rural communities get the clean drinking water they needed? Did the government listen to good ideas from the opposition parties, from women, and minorities? And when we say government, we also mean the elected politicians and all hired or appointed officials: the police, the army, the people who run the cities and prov- inces, schools and hospitals. Journalists need to ask these questions, and to report how the political parties answer them. For all of these reasons, it can be said that democracy and a free media have a special relationship. They need each other. A free media will help keep the election honest and democratic. And a democratically elected government will protect the media’s freedoms. Source: Media and Elections: An Elections Reporting Handbook |