Did you notice that we’ve lost the press freedom that is essential in our democracy? If you’re like many people, probably not.
Do you believe that a free press is a Constitutional guarantee? Most people likely think it is indeed guaranteed. Actually, it is not.

Here’s the real story as I see it:

“Freedom of the press is an implicit and essential right of the people. It is not just freedom of speech for journalists. If a democracy is going to work, citizens have got to make informed political choices. The media are the people’s primary means for keeping informed. Many believe that press freedom exists if the media are free of governmental control and that pluralism prevails. That view misses the main point. A good share of the media has got to be free to serve the people.”

Those were my opening comments when the World Association of Newspapers invited me deliver the Keynote Address at the Press Freedom Forum of its 2006 World Congress.

Separately, a published report from the U.S. Agency for International Development tells us of another vital point. It is that the press “serves a ‘checking function’ by ensuring that elected representatives uphold their oaths of office and carry out the wishes of those who elected them.” Often this is called being a “watchdog.”

Now, here in 2024, much of our news coverage is devoid of those fundamental principles. Tune in to CNN or MSNBC and you’ll hear people serving their audiences with bias and persuasion, forthrightly favoring their preferred political candidates. Switch to Fox News and you’ll hear the same thing, but with an opposite political twist.

These biased or dishonest news services are........

© Eurasia Review