In the light of the murders of magazine staff in Paris by
terrorists, we have to examine the many threats to the
freedom of the press and freedom of expression in lands
with or without democracy. Joel Simon has drawn on alleged
governmental enforcement and internet censorship as well
as
violence against journalists. THE NEW CENSORSHIP is a
worrying and insightful read.
The opening chapter shows the author with other
journalists
in Pakistan, asking for a meeting with the president
regarding fifteen journalists who had been killed there,
co-
incidentally as the raid on Bin Laden's compound was
carried out. This country has one of the world's worst
records for bringing murderers of journalists to justice.
Now some of its best known journalists, who lived under
constant threat, were invited to speak with generals who
needed to explain themselves to their country's media.
Two
weeks later Shahzad, who had published a story on how Al-
Quaeda had infiltrated Pakistan's Navy, was abducted and
killed.
Citizen journalism, which is the term for blogging,
tweeting and posting video clips and photos of events, has
been rising which has prompted severe internet censorship
in repressive countries like China. Such regimes also
prohibit or reduce net traffic from outside their country,
while citizen journalists are subjected to repression.
Journalists have often been on the frontlines of
humanitarian work or war, informing the world. Mass media
is still the best way to communicate major issues to a
wide
audience. Joel Simon tells us that the number of
journalists killed and imprisoned has reached record
levels
in recent years, and according to some studies, press
freedom is in decline. The 2011 Freedom of The Press index
states that only fifteen percent of the world's citizens
live in
countries with a free press.
Journalists have traditionally been viewed as neutral,
sympathetic viewers by ordinary citizens in war zones.
However as Middle East countries became increasingly
polarised, even the local journalists came under
increasing
attack during their daily lives. In recent years, search
engines and social media sites became a faster, uncensored
way to find news, particularly where local media were seen
as partisan, corrupt or censored. Simon also cites his
experience working in Mexico, where he says videos of
murders are regularly posted by criminal cartels, and
dozens of reporters have been murdered; and in supposedly
moderate Turkey, where he says journalists have been
arrested en masse. Occasionally however, international
media coverage has provided enough pressure to force a
government to release a captive journalist. Amnesty and
Reporters Without Borders are cited. Simon makes it clear
that the press does require regulation to ensure that the
news presented is truthful and balanced, and the methods
used to gather it honest or justifiable. This regulation
is not found among citizen journalists who may well be
activists.
THE NEW CENSORSHIP, which looks inside South American and
African countries equally with former Soviet Union ones,
is
a sobering and well-presented read. Joel Simon uses his
own experiences as well as those of other media workers to
demonstrate that the rise of global communication means
that journalists are paradoxically under more serious
threat than ever.
Journalists are being imprisoned and killed in record
numbers. Online surveillance is annihilating privacy, and
the Internet can be brought under government control at
any time. Joel Simon, the executive director of the
Committee to Protect Journalists, warns that we can no
longer assume that our global information ecosystem is
stable, protected, and robust. Journalists are
increasingly vulnerable to attack by authoritarian
governments, militants, criminals, and terrorists, who all
seek to use technology, political pressure, and violence
to set the global information agenda.
Reporting from Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and
Mexico, among other hotspots, Simon finds journalists
under threat from all sides. The result is a growing
crisis in information--a shortage of the news we need to
make sense of our globalized world and fight human rights
abuses, manage conflict, and promote accountability.
Drawing on his experience defending journalists on the
front lines, he calls on "global citizens," U.S. policy
makers, international law advocates, and human rights
groups to create a global freedom-of-expression agenda
tied to trade, climate, and other major negotiations. He
proposes ten key priorities, including combating the
murder of journalists, ending censorship, and developing a
global free-expression charter to challenge the criminal
and corrupt forces that seek to manipulate the world's
news
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