World Press Freedom Day: Information as a Public Good
Today, on World Press Freedom Day, we recognize the key role that a free press plays in democracy. We honor journalists around the world for their work. Journalists help ensure that citizens are informed and exposed to diverse perspectives on the issues. Well-informed citizens make countries stronger. Here in South Sudan, I was very pleased to see last month that local journalists David Mono Danga and Waakhe Simon Wudu won separate international awards for excellence in reporting. I commend them for their professionalism and commitment to excellence. I also applaud all media professionals in South Sudan who pursue their noble career honorably, often under difficult conditions.
(Noel Celis/AFP/MANILA BULLETIN)
“Center for Women’s Resources stands in solidarity with media practitioners and workers who have been state targets in their pursuit of truth-seeking and truth-telling,” the organization said Monday, May 3.
“Women and children have become more vulnerable as our civic and democratic spaces continue to shrink amidst worsening attacks to our human rights. A free and independent press is crucial in our struggle for genuine independence and democracy,” CWR added.
The World Press Freedom Day is commemorated every May 3 in “support for media which are targets for the restraint, or abolition, of press freedom.”
Proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993, the World Press Freedom Day is also a day of remembrance of those journalists who lost their lives in the pursuit of a story.
Published May 3, 2021, 9:49 AM
Commission on Human Rights
Filipino journalists deserve to exercise their profession without any fear of violence, intimidation, and harassment, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) declared on Monday, May 3, in the observance of the World Press Freedom Day.
“Journalists give voice to the voiceless, poor, and marginalized. No time is better than now to support them in their fight for truth and justice,” the CHR stressed.
Through Spokesperson Jacqueline Ann De Guia, the CHR paid tribute to the important role of journalists particularly amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
De Guia said that because of the untiring efforts of the members of the Philippine press, the public is kept abreast with the most factual and relevant information, on top of holding those in power to account.
Cyril Ramaphosa | Let s work together to safeguard media freedom
News24
Dear Fellow South African,
We live in a country where not just journalists but any member of the public is able to freely articulate views, opinions and indeed, dissatisfaction without fear of retribution.
As we conclude Freedom Month, we recall how far we have come from the days when artists social protests attracted banning orders and journalists critical reporting risked imprisonment or the closure of publications.
Last week, the organisation Reporters without Borders published the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, a barometer of the state of media freedom across the globe.