When many people consider World Press Freedom Day they likely think it’s a day that only has meaning in repressive regimes around the world that have state-run media or that imprison or kill journalists.
Surely we don't have any such issues in St. Albert, Alberta or Canada, do we?
The threats to a free press are real here as well.
In this country, and south of the border, people wield the term "fake news" like a weapon against anyone they disagree with or whose work they want to discredit. Credible news outlets are under fire from ideologues who wish to perpetuate their version of the truth. When truth begins to have versions, we should all be concerned about where this road might lead.
Journalists labour in the public interest. They inquire about how your city council, provincial or federal governments are spending your tax dollars, or whether they are delivering on the promises they made. This is not out of idle curiosity. This is because those issues are matters of public concern – they are issues that impact the lives of the citizenry. Journalists are there to shine lights into the dark corners, and they are there to put issues into perspective.
If your provincial government comes to St. Albert to announce millions of dollars for a park and ride, journalists are there to report that this is not new money as the project was announced three years earlier.
They are there to report that the circumstances that led to a train wreck – that miraculously did not kill or injure anyone in a Sturgeon County neighbourhood – presents a safety issue for similar communities across the country.
Journalists are there to ask why a plane did not have a black box to record its movements when it crashed, killing a former premier of our province, despite recommendations by the Transportation Safety Board decades earlier that were never enforced.
Another threat to press freedom is the growing number of public relations people and their penchant to ‘spin’ the message, thereby casting a positive light on their organization. Their job is not to provide balance to issues, but to create positive public perception.
PR people now outnumber journalists by four to one in Canada, which means there are more people pitching story angles and spinning yarns on behalf of governments and industry than there are journalists to verify the messaging. Meanwhile those same PR people are often the gatekeepers of information that journalists need to research allegations of wrongdoing, misspending or lapses in legislation that threaten public safety. Sometimes the gatekeepers throw up roadblocks to journalists by failing to provide information by deadline. Sometimes they answer only one of the ten questions asked. Sometimes they don't get back to you at all.
What would our world look like if the city, provincial or federal government or industry were the sole curators of the news we consume? Would you like them to prevent information from getting out? Or would you trust your lot to journalists who hold officials to account?
World Press Freedom Day is a day for citizens everywhere to stand up and support a free and independent press which is necessary for a free and functioning democracy.
