Increasing state-media ownership, repressive regimes, regulatory and financial pressure, and public denunciations of honest journalism are some factors helping to cloud out media freedom globally, a clarion call to embracing social media platforms.
Media freedom globally has come under siege, both in emerging and influential democracies as populist leadership seek to thwart independent journalism. Most Governments opt to set up their own media houses to propagate their ideologies inimical to the desires of the people.
While threats abound there is still hope for the ‘affected media’ to rebound from the ‘perceived cocoon’. There is a need to protect the purveyors of news when opportunities arise.
To ensure the much touted democratic liberties and media freedom are kept alight, practitioners must stick to ethics and thrive on honest and fact-based journalism, which can never be extinguished or challenged legally.
Sarah Repucci, Senior Director for Research and Analysis, in her findings, casts hope on the future of the media, existing and fledgling democracies across the globe. She challenges practitioners to join hands and fight repressive efforts by critical voices.
In a report published by the 81-year-old-Freedom House, Repucci notes that various forces have come into centre stage to scuttle media freedoms and liberties. There is a need for players under siege to seek to harmonise the situation sooner than later.
“In some of the most influential democracies in the world, populist leaders have overseen concerted attempts to throttle the independence of the media sector and while the threats to global media freedom are real and concerning in their own right, their impact on the state of democracy is what makes them truly dangerous.” Says part of the research.
Freedom House, the first American organization to champion the advancement of freedom globally with a wider mandate that protects democracy and empowers citizens, allowing them to exercise their fundamental rights through a unique combination of analysis and advocacy globally, is optimistic the unbalanced trends stifling the media would be reversed soon.
The fundamental right to seek and disseminate information through an independent press is under attack, and part of the assault has come from an unexpected source, the report notes.
Elected leaders in many democracies, who should be press freedom’s staunchest defenders, have made explicit attempts to silence critical media voices and strengthen outlets that serve up favorable coverage. The trend is linked to a global decline in democracy itself:
The erosion of press freedom is both a symptom of and a contributor to the breakdown of other democratic institutions and principles, a fact that makes it especially alarming.
Freedom House’s Freedom in the World data, notes the deteriorating media freedom globally over the past decade. There are new forms of repression taking hold in open societies and authoritarian states alike.
The trend is most acute in Europe, previously a bastion of well-established freedoms, in Eurasia and the Middle East, where many of the world’s worst dictatorships are concentrated.
If democratic powers cease to support media independence at home and impose no consequences for its restriction abroad, the free press corps could be in danger of virtual extinction.
To a greater extent, the attackers of press freedom especially in some of the most influential democracies in the world, large segments of the population are no longer receiving unbiased news and information.
Arguably, this is not because journalists are being thrown in jail, as might occur in authoritarian settings. Instead, the media have fallen prey to more nuanced efforts to throttle their independence.
Many authorities globally, are making frantic efforts and ensure there is ‘government-backed ownership changes, regulatory and financial pressure, and public denunciations of honest journalists’.
“Governments have also offered proactive support to friendly outlets through measures such as lucrative state contracts, favorable regulatory decisions, and preferential access to state information. The goal is to make the press serve those in power rather than the public.”
The problem has arisen in tandem with right-wing populism, which has undermined basic freedoms in many democratic countries.
Populist leaders present themselves as the defenders of an aggrieved majority against liberal elites and ethnic minorities whose loyalties they question, and argue that the interests of the nation—as they define it—should override democratic principles like press freedom, transparency, and open debate, research adds.
The research warns however, that while researched-backed ‘investigative’ news remains the best shield against legal implications, some Governments have sought to fight the independence of the press with some countries both in Europe and Africa enforcing wanton actions against some media houses.
In Cameroun, the government had shut down internet service in the restive Anglophone region for close to 12 months, a heavy-handed reaction to protests and a nascent insurgency stemming from long-standing discrimination against the large Anglophone minority.
In Myanmar, two Reuters journalists were sentenced to seven years in prison after a flawed trial in which the court ignored plain evidence that they had been entrapped to halt their investigation of military atrocities against the Rohingya minority; although they were recently pardoned, they were not exonerated.
The picture of global press freedom is apparently not all that is bleak with some countries already showing examples of democratic progress. These defenders include Ethiopia, Malaysia, Armenia, Ecuador, and The Gambia—that all nearly featured parallel gains in their media environments.
Although there are threats to global media freedom their impact on the state of democracy is what makes them truly dangerous. A free and independent media sector that can keep the population informed and hold leaders to account is as crucial for a strong and sustainable democracy as free and fair elections.
Without it, the report adds, citizens cannot make informed decisions about how they are ruled, and abuse of power, which is all but inevitable in any society, cannot be exposed and corrected as evidenced through various documented incidents in Africa and beyond.
The press has remained a watchdog of society and helped in upholding civil liberties and freedoms of the people, although there is room for purveyors of news being compromised-ethically.
There is an obvious tension between journalists who are attempting to perform their proper democratic function and antidemocratic regimes that are determined to retain power.
The innovative and courageous work of independent reporters offers hope that even in the most desperate circumstances, those who are committed to distributing information in the public interest can find a way, a situation that demands joint effort among players to reverse the trend.
“But these journalists alone cannot address the needs of billions of people who still have access to little more than their government’s narrative and must rely on their own instincts and observations to assess the claims of corrupt and abusive leaders.” The research says
Repucci however recommends guidelines for policymakers in democratic nations to adopt and help ensure the sustainability of independent media worldwide by ensuring their actions do not excuse or inspire violations of press freedom.
Take strong and immediate action against any violations of media freedom globally through press statements, phone calls, meetings, letters, and the imposition of targeted sanctions on perpetrators.
This includes speaking out against violence against journalists and authorities’ failure to identify and prosecute attackers, restrictions on media access, blocking of websites, and censorship on particular topics.
Stand up publicly for the value of a free press, and support civic education that will inform the next generation.
There is a need for unwavering support towards popularizing social media as an alternative outlet for free expression in repressive environments.
Donors should financially support growth of media technology to increase outreach and help desist from circumventing censorship. Reporters need protection where they need be through revision of archaic laws.
