The freedom of the press is paramount if those in power are to be held accountable.
In the immediate aftermath of the tragic events that unfolded in Paris on 7 January, I made a conscious decision to sit on my hands, bite my tongue, and not be drawn into the furore surrounding the Charlie Hebdo magazine attack. Despite the fact that, as a journalist, I share a certain kinship with the people killed on that fateful day, the emotion of the event was too raw. And besides, my doorstep run-in with a couple of paid thugs and my (soon to end) two-year restraining order against another knuckle-dragger were but a minor inconvenience in comparison to the years of death threats that were eventually fulfilled against the team at Charlie Hebdo.
But more than a week has passed and a number of people far more intelligent than me have now had their say on the subject of press freedom. And so, here is my two pennies worth.
Press freedom and freedom of speech are cornerstones of democracy. Plain and simple. 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 in power. And that applies, in equal measure, to Charlie Hebdo ridiculing the Islamic faith; to the UK’s Private Eye holding to account the UK government; and to little ol’ DemolitionNews running a magnifying glass over the activities of the self-appointed cabal that holds sway in demolition’s corridors of power.
Without freedom of the press, former president Richard Nixon would still be looked back upon as a kindly old geezer with America’s best interests as heart while Bill Clinton would be held up as a model of marital fidelity and propriety. Without freedom of the press, Jimmy Savile would still be revered as a fund-raising eccentric and forgiven his penchant for gold lame and lycra. Without freedom of the press, the war in Iraq would be seen as a just conflict and not the stage-managed and oil-fuelled hunt for non-existent weapons of mass destruction that it turned out to be.
It is important, of course, that journalists (and political cartoonists for that matter) remain on the right side of the press freedom line and do not stray into the murky waters of abuse. That said, every democracy worth its salt has in place regulations to govern libel, slander and, more recently, hacking.
Ultimately, the power of the press rests with the readership or viewership. If you are a Muslim practising Sharia law, Charlie Hebdo is probably not your ideal source of religious commentary, so don’t read it. If you are a right-minded human being and/or have a brain, don’t read the Daily Mail. If you prefer your TV programmes to be largely Caucasian and painstakingly heterosexual, stick with the BBC – Channel 4 will likely scare the bejabbers out of you. And if you like your industry news to be passed through the filter marked “everything in the garden is rosy”, then DemolitionNews is not the news outlet you were looking for.
