Tag: Freedom of the press

  • Why the News Media’s Job is to Groom Us

    Why the News Media’s Job is to Groom Us

    When all we have to rely on in understanding our relationship to the news media is the media’s self-proclaimed assessment of its own role, maybe it is no surprise that most of us assume the West’s “free press” is a force for good: the bedrock of democracy, the touchstone of a superior western civilisation. The […]

  • A Global Crackdown on Freedom of Expression

    According to a 2022 report by Article 19, an international organization that documents and champions freedom of expression, 80 percent of the world’s population lives with less freedom of expression today than did ten years ago. The eradication of basic freedoms and rights is partly due to the pervasive normalization of censorship. Across media platforms, […]

  • Free Press, Propaganda and Censorship

    In war, truth is the first casualty. — Aeschylus, Greek tragic dramatist (525 BC – 456 BC) How many of us learn about Russia from a Russian point of view? Or about Syria from a loyal Syrian? Or Cuba from a Cuban supporter? Or Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, China or many others on our current […]

  • Assange Exposes the Empire’s True Face

    Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley). Julian Assange is a journalist who’s been imprisoned for doing journalism on war crimes, by an empire that claims to defend journalists and oppose war crimes. Assange and his persecution expose the giant plot holes in every story the western power structure tells about […]

  • Hypocritical Commemorations

    Selected days for commemoration serve one fundamental purpose. Centrally, they acknowledge the forgotten or neglected, while proposing to do nothing about it. It’s the priest’s confession, the chance for absolution before the next round of soiling. These occasions are often money-making exercises for canny businesses: the days put aside to remember mothers and fathers, for […]

  • “Journalism is Not a Crime”

    “Journalism is Not a Crime”

    May 3 marks the 30th anniversary of Press Freedom Day, inaugurated in 1993 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) with support from the United Nations (UNESCO). RSF’s original 1991 report provided a “round-up of journalists killed throughout the world” and laid the groundwork for what eventually became the Press Freedom Index, which now ranks freedom of […]

  • The Lifeblood of Democracy

    The Lifeblood of Democracy

    Two cornerstones of democracy—freedom of expression and freedom of information—are under concerted attack, in the United States and around the world. In the US, for example, reactionary elected officials seek to ban books in schools, often in the name of protecting children; and government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, seek to curb online […]

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