EDITORIAL- Government, do not endanger free press

At some point in the fourth grade, most of us sat in a social studies classroom where our… At some point in the fourth grade, most of us sat in a social studies classroom where our teacher told us that we live in a democracy. And one of the most important freedoms we enjoy in this democratic society is freedom of the press.

So why would a democratic government attempt to keep the press down?

On Aug. 5, Iraq’s interim government ordered the Arabic television news channel, al-Jazeera, to close its Baghdad office for a month on charges of advocating violence and inciting hatred. The ban was extended on Saturday, and Iraqi security forces sealed al-Jazeera’s Baghdad office shut with red wax.

The argument the Iraqi government poses is that broadcasting images of hostages threatened with execution encourages more kidnappings. On the other side of the argument is the Cairo-based Arab Organisation for Human Rights, which states that the ban and its extension violates the U.S. administration’s calls to spread democracy and is a “dangerous violation” of freedom of opinion.

On Sept. 5 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva proposed a plan to create a national journalists’ council to regulate the press in Brazil. News organizations that would be affected by the bill call it the most “serious threat to freedom of expression” since Brazil’s right-wing military dictatorship came to an end two decades ago.

Opposition leaders accuse da Silva of hypocrisy and demonstrating “anti-democratic behavior.” The former leader of the metalworkers union was known to frequently denounce alleged corruption by the government and pass on incriminating dossiers to reporters. For the first time, da Silva’s Workers’ Party has come to power, and the Brazilian government is currently confronting a series of allegations of corruption and administrative irregularities — and the news media is reporting it all.

In both Iraq and Brazil — as is the case in many other countries — the press is the primary source of information for people. The governments of these countries should remember that freedom of the press includes the freedom of bad press. It may not portray governments in the best light, but the press is necessary in a democracy because in a democracy, leaders are held accountable by the people. Therefore, the people need to be aware of what their leaders are doing.

Images of hostage situations may not make a country look its best. But if such a situation is really going on, who is to say it should not be broadcasted? And the news media’s consistent coverage of government corruption should not be the reason for the government to restrict the media; it should be motivation for the government to get its act together.

But what about here in this country, where fourth graders are learning about freedom of the press in social studies class? The freedom of the press here is not endangered, is it?

Well, ask any of the reporters who fell out of favor with the White House and can’t get into a press conference because they lost press credentials. Or find out what the Pentagon censored from the “People’s Right to Know Tape” — a government-produced tape about “government openness.”

There is no democracy without freedom, and that includes freedom of the press.