Why is freedom of press important in a democracy?

Answer 1

To me, the clearest way to understand it is based on the intention of the Founding Fathers. No governmental group or individual should be given too much power. Freedom of the press is a vital check and protection against this. Keep everyone accountable. If they're doing honest and courageous work, a free press is worth dying for.

Answer 2

When the press is free to write without fear of punishment, then they are not afraid to write the truth, even when it offends those with lots of power.

By being able to write about the workings of government without the fear of punishment, the press can reveal both good and poor decisions or actions of government. This serves as an accountability measure (method) for the citizens of a country. At the next election, people can judge and vote with more informed opinions than without a free press. No one person can gather and consider so much information as a team of trained journalists.

Many countries do not have freedom of the press and you will notice a correlation to human rights abuses in those countries.

Some countries have very centralized ownership in the press. Countries like Canada and the USA for instance. Most of the news sources that the majority of the people watch are controlled by a few companies which rely on a few big sources of news. (Like AP or Postmedia news) Cdn. and American owners are free, however they in turn can control their editorial boards and staff who choose the news that will be presented. they may do this legally since that is a right of private ownership and freedom of speech. These news companies must turn a profit or serve the fundamental values of their owners that we normally assume and hope are altruistic. Notice how many news stories are printed/posted in many different locations, yet are written by the same central news source. Many critics of the media make arguements that in Canada and the USA we have a less free and less diverse press than others actually feel thes countries have.

In contrast to how I started the answer; in a country where the press is free to speak, sometimes a news company speaks parts of the truth or pretends news is actually fact when it is really a one-sided opinion piece on a news story. When it is blatant, we tend to say the news source is biased or controlled by a group. Some would say that in a free Western democracy that we do not always have a free press due to the economic controls of our fairly centralized news media. People like Noam Chomsky try to debate these issues.

Hope this answer is food for thought. This answer is a reflection of my upbringing, worldview, education, income and should be reflected upon alongside other answers. I could be writing this to inform you truthfully or trying to use Propaganda to control your beliefs. However, I write this with a sense of freedom from persecution or ill treatment by others. Therefore I feel free to tell you the truth about the debate as I see it. I am not a professional writer or jourmalist and own no news company, nor am I a member of any political party. I am a citizen of two countries of which one is Canada or the USA. Or is that just what I say. However, I am free to use the internet as are you. You can accept this "free" information and analyze it with a critical mind.

Answer 3

So that a free and informed voting public can hear and critically assess competing ideas. Unfortunately the "free" press has a long history of bias and a lack of objectivity. And the government has a long history of suppressing free speech and the press. John Adams, Lincoln, Wilson and FDR most famously promoted and enforced laws prohibiting "anti-government" speech or print.

Adams signed alien and sedition acts in 1798, making it a crime to criticize him. Lincoln imprisoned anti-war editors of northern papers, Wilson passed the sedition acts of 1918 (It forbade the use of "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, its flag, or its armed forces).

FDR forcibly shut down non union print shops and magazines critical of his administration and even went as far as pulling newsboys off the street for selling print from anti-war papers and magazines.

Answer 4

The reason America wants freedom of speech, press, etc,. is so that unlike China, we can actually say what is happening in our country, and in some cases, voice our opinion on it.