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(UN News)* — The United Nations Secretary-General on Monday [3 May 2021] urged governments to “do everything in their power” to support free, independent and diverse media, which the UN’s top human rights official highlighted as “a cornerstone of democratic societies”. Unsplash/Zeg Young | Press gather at an event in Shanghai, China. In a message on World Press Freedom Day, marked annually on 3 May, Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the importance of reliable, verified and accessible information. “During the pandemic, and in other crises including the climate emer...

By Ken MeyerMay 3rd, 2021, 7:50 am   President Joe Biden commended the fourth estate in recognition of World Press Freedom Day in a statement released Monday morning. The statement from the White House honors the role of the press in a free society, describing reporters as “truth-tellers who refuse to be intimidated, often at great personal risk.” Of course, this is a dramatic departure from Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, who frequently referred to the media as the “enemy of the people,” delegitimized critical reporting as “fake news,” and held a decisively negative relat...

File image NATIONAL NEWS - Government has emphasised the importance of media in sharing credible information with the public. “In an era of instant information sharing, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for trustworthy and fact checked news for public good is crucial,” Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) Director General, Phumla Williams, said in a statement on Monday. Williams made her comments as government joins the rest of the world in commemorating World Press Freedom Day under the theme, ‘Information as a Public Good’. This yea...

Journalists have remained targeted specie and seen as threat to those in public office. by SaharaReporters, New York May 03, 2021 A group, the Association of Cross River Online Journalists, has urged the Federal Government and the Cross River State Government to drop all charges against journalists standing trial for doing their job. The union of online journalists practising in Cross River State made the call in a statement issued by its Chairman, Darlington Edem, and Secretary, Archibong Jeremiah, respectively on World Press Freedom Day 2021. File Photo The statement reads in part, “May ...

Thirty years ago today, in the face of constant pressure and violence, African journalists came together to issue the Windhoek Declaration, which asserted that, “[t]he establishment, maintenance and fostering of an independent, pluralistic and free press is essential to the development and maintenance of democracy in a nation, and for economic development.”  Then, as now, we celebrate the courage of truth-tellers who refuse to be intimidated, often at great personal risk, and we reaffirm the timeless and essential role journalism and a free media play in societies everywhere.  Journalis...