The world we are living in is full of global issues and points of debate that are discussed on regular basis. On one hand, we have the advocates for globalization with thinking that all cultures should be based on the same principles, while on the other hand, we have advocates that express the importance of cultural diversity and heritage. Now, without getting deeper into this debate we will just say that in our opinion it is important that every culture keeps its identity and tradition while being based on unilateral and international democratic principles. And among all the principles that are a base of democracy is the freedom of speech, and freedom of thought. These two, on the other hand, are a base of a modern and important principle called freedom of press/media.
As you might know, press/media comes in all types of forms, but it still a major source of daily information for many people out there (especially those that don’t have enough time to go ahead and look into the certain matter themselves). With this in mind, the importance of free press for the benefit of the people is clear, and it is also a seen as a legal control of the government and prevention of misconducts that could occur by the people in power.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at all the benefits of free press!
Img source: rtr.atThe Benefits Of Free Press/Media
1. First and foremost and maybe the most important advantage of a free press is that it prevents a dictatorship. Freedom of the press was restricted in most totalitarian and communist regimes, and still is a point of debate in some major countries. By restricting freedom of press you are leading the country into a dictatorship where people can think only as the rulers say. And along with that freedom of press/media is a major way to control the possible mind manipulation over the regular people caused by the media that is state-controlled and government.
2. Along with that, it encourages debate. You see – if debate and different view on various points are restricted so will be the formation of new ideas and in the long term improvement of that culture. If you don’t allow people to form and express their critical thinking there will be no way that the society will be able to advance.
3. Also, a good and free press is sure to favor knowledge over prejudices and deceptions. And if people are allowed to use the free media as one of their knowledge sources it will broaden the whole experience. As you might be familiar with a lot of people are starting to disregard press as a source of their info exactly because it either isn’t free or it is biased. That is where the importance of free media lies – if it is allowed people will have much more respect as well more interest in what it has to say.
4. As mentioned above the freedom of the press is one of the main cornerstones of a democratic society so if it not allowed all other principles are put in question as well. A society where one can’t safely express his thought through a speech or an article isn’t a democratic and modern one.
Img source: evensfoundation.be
5. Last but not least apart from preventing the government to manipulate with people free press is there to prevent the misuse of power that includes corruption as well. If the government acts aren’t controlled the people in power will have the free space to do anything that suits them breaking many principles in the process. On the other hand, once media is free they will be able to report on that kind of situations and people that are misusing their power will be dismissed.
Summary
As you can see allowing the freedom of press/media is one of the most important things for society. With this in mind, we should take a deep breath and ask why is this is still a point of debate in some of the major countries all over the world?
