Threats aplenty
If you understand that democracy depends on a free press, then you are concerned about the many threats to journalism in areas of conflict and in the free world, too. Today is World Press Freedom Day, a day to consider threats like the murder of reporters, the economic squeeze on reliable news media, the emergence of “fake news” and the successful efforts of U.S. President Donald Trump to vilify the press and make that popular.
The Globe and Mail’s foreign editor, Angela Murphy gives an example of the importance of a the role of journalists: “Somebody has to keep an eye and, as journalists, it’s our job to scrutinize, to not only be at the council meeting or be at Parliament, but also examining …politicians’ expenses, and if they’re dealing fairly with our tax dollars. And some of that requires a lot of digging… that the regular citizen, might not, isn’t going to take the time to do. They rely on us to do that.”
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A double bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan on April 30, 2018 is said to have deliberately targeted journalists. (Massoud Hossaini/AP Photo)
Dying to tell the story
Several journalists, most recently in Afghanistan and Mexico, have died trying to tell the story of what is going on. In Canada, the threats are more subtle. Many community newspapers have shut down because advertising revenue has been siphoned off by internet advertisers. Journalists have been subpoenaed to reveal their sources and have had to fight back in court. Murphy says there are too many obstacles for reporters trying to get access to documents under the Access to Information law. Then there is the online trolling some journalists have to endure.
Is your news verified by two sources?
More people rely on the internet for their news and that concerns Murphy. “What you get on the internet isn’t necessarily news verified by two sources and held to the same standards as we do at the Globe and Mail and you do at the (public broadcaster the) CBC. It’s important for the public to understand the difference.”
In the U.S., President Donald Trump has succeeded in sowing hatred for reporters. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Trump undermines mainstream media
And she is very concerned about Trump’s use of the term ‘fake news.’
“There was fake news produced in the last (U.S.) presidential election, as we have seen. But there is a tendency to take that label and apply it to things that you just don’t like. (For example) ‘I don’t like the tone of this story. I don’t like this criticism. So, I’m just going to call it ‘fake’ and try to undermine it.’ In this way, he is creating an atmosphere where the public starts to question the mainstream media about whether we’re doing our jobs correctly.”
‘Attacks against…freedom, and of humanity’
In its lead editorial today, the Globe and Mail stated: “The health of democratic institutions, and wider participatory democracy, is directly linked to an independent press.” And, “By strangling those who put their lives on the line to tell the truth, the world’s most dangerous corners can only slide further into paroxysmal attacks against the very idea of freedom, and of humanity itself.”
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