The Press Must Be Free

Freedom of the press is essential. It acts as a device to express, and reflect on a

problem. The press has the right to shed light on the errors that an apparatus is
having. The press reflects on democracy, on how freedom it is for people to speak
up. Therefore, a government should not intervene or censor any media that the
press trying to talk out. However, freedom is still limited to rights and to fit the
customs of a country. In my opinion, the press should be able to speak up
critically, it should be a truthful device for residents to lay trust on, not to be a
governed device to propagate. I agree that the press must be free.

"Without newspapers, radio shows, blogs, etc., the average person would have
little to no knowledge of what is going on around them. Most people lack the time
and resources to investigate issues and stories that affect them and our society."
Stated Emmaline Soken-Huberty. Throughout, we see that the role that the press
and media play on the people is vast. A normal citizen is not able to analyze, or
research how their surrounding is doing, therefore the existence of the press is
nothing but indispensable, With skillful, knowledgeable journalists who can
answer many social problems, the press provides vast trustworthy news to
citizens.

Trevor Timm, an activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation said: "An

independent press is one of the essential pillars of democracy, and we need to
support journalists and whistleblowers alike to protect it." He mentioned that
building a democratic society needs to have a speakable press which able to
criticize an apparatus. In a dictatorship society, the press will be penalized if they
reflect a problem to the public, that is not a free press where newspapers and
media barely can do anything.

A developed country will have a free press. Like the story of former U.S. President
Donald Trump and CNN, although he hates the newspaper, he cannot do anything
other than debate against it. The U.S. press is overwhelmed with informing news
for the residents. The press can leak out any secret information without being
censored. A country will develop if the people have the right to speak about what
they want to be involved in. Democracy will in parallel help the government
develop the country at its best. On that aspect, giving a shoutout to the resident is
necessary, not to shut their mouths.

The First Amendment of the U.S. also mentioned freedom of the press: "Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right
of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances." To expand, the article mentions that no government
should poke its nose in what the press says, the press should be one hundred
percent free. We all respect the press to be able to speak up, we are all human
who wants to live our lives, not in a governed life.

On the other hand, there are many media, and press abuse. Through the COVID
pandemic, fake news, and unverified news are all over the Internet making
everyone confused and fearful, Many newspapers with sensation titles appeared
everywhere making the public panicked. Consequently, not controlling the press
is not always good. Political dissents and conflicts are some of the problems that
the press and media are causing. Reading hateful news also leads to ingrained in
the subconscious mind hateful thoughts.

"As independently run companies, the press might also put out explicit and overly
violent content or hate speech against certain groups to elicit strong public
reactions. These might alter the public’s opinion on certain matters and might
incite conflicts over deeply sensitive social issues. As such, the press should be
regulated to prevent these from happening." Concerned Jerren Gan about
problems of a free press. It is concerning that the media uses sensationalism to
attract readers and cause readers to believe in unreal articles, without verification
these kinds of news will exist all over the Internet.
In contrast, many countries need the freedom of the press to speak up for their
rights, especially the end-bottom Press ranking countries like China, or North
Korea. (Gan, 2021). The freedom of the press is essential to the development of
the country and the voice of residents. It shows how democratic a country is and
how its government is governed. We all want to live in a life where we can shout
out and speak up about our difficulties not living in fear, depression, and
suppression.