Press freedom in developing countries

While the world is observing the press freedom day on 03 May, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the only UN agency mandated to defend right to freedom of opinion and expression, has floated the topic of fostering dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation for worldwide discourse.

Protection of journalists, their professional freedom and state’s attitude towards media work are the major concerns highlighted on every world press freedom day. Since press freedom is the primary key to all kinds of human and democratic rights, defending press freedom is not the duty of the UNESCO only. It is the duty of every human being to defend press freedom.

The issue of press freedom is related to political ideologies and political and socio-economic systems. Depending on ideological and existing political and socio-economic systems, governments and intellectuals have been advocating for press freedom.

The issue of press freedom requires a more serious treatment in the developing countries where major political forces are considered heavily dependent on loan-giving nations. The peoples of the developing countries have developed a notion that their governments make policies as per the interests to the dominant global powers, namely, USA and major European countries. What is apparently noticed I the developing countries is the influence of multinational corporations on the economic policy formulation processes that even affect the choice of political forces capable of catering to such interests. Among the multinational corporations active in the developing countries, multinational media are considered more powerful in promoting multinational products and services by t raining the peoples on consumerist culture.

Multinational corporations are not promoting consumerist culture on their own. There are multinational media corporations to support them.

Koïchiro Matsuura, UNESCO Director-General in his statement issued today on the occasion of the World Press Freedom, said, “The way the media influences thought and action and its capacity to foster dialogue, understanding and reconciliation will be the focus of discussions at a UNESCO conference marking World Press Freedom Day 2009.” In the same statement, he has stressed on the need for the World’s mass media to respond to the human diversity through dialogue.

One can expand the genuine meaning of press freedom on the basis of Matsurura’s statement. Without a multi-ideological media and grassrootsl-based media philosophy, contradictions and conflicts are not likely to be managed in the world. Ideologically prejudiced media and media contents further aggravate conflicts and violence in the world.

What is equally worth considering on the World Press Freedom Day is that press freedom must not be confined to the freedom of media owners. Nor is this freedom for ruling elites. So far, it has not been for the working class people.  Especially, peoples in the developing countries have to examine press freedom and its dimensions for the transformation of their lives.

Finally, let’s offer our tributes to all killed journalists!