Freedom of the press is significant for keeping people informed. A free press monitors the administration and forces them to work for the betterment of the country.
Thomas Jefferson once said “The press [is] the only tocsin of a nation. [When it] is completely silenced… all means of a general effort [are] taken away.”
The press acts as a medium of communication between the government and the people. The free press has a huge responsibility of reporting the truth and shaping people’s opinions. Hence to mark the importance of the press, World Press Freedom Day is celebrated every year.
World Press Freedom Day 2020
The day is celebrated to raise awareness regarding the importance of freedom of the press. The day is reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics.
“A free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad.” – Albert Camus
May 3 the World Press Freedom Day is a day of support for media which are targets for the restraint, or abolition, of press freedom. It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the pursuit of a story.
“As the [COVID-19] pandemic spreads, it has also given rise to a second pandemic of misinformation, from harmful health advice to wild conspiracy theories. The press provides the antidote: verified, scientific, fact-based news and analysis”.
-UN Secretary-General António Guterres
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