From the Editor: Why press freedom is the linchpin of a thriving democracy
Silencing those who speak against injustices signals the death of democracy. (Mographe/Pexels)
It was late 2021, and my dainty LG T.V. in New Delhi blared with news of then U.S. president Joe Biden and then vice-president Kamala Harris taking the oath of office. This was the beginning of a new world.
“Everything will get better,” people said. Like the wars would all magically stop, all the lives lost would suddenly come back, and it would be easier because everything will now fall into place. The West would lead us in the right direction. Someone my skin colour was on the news. She was powerful, she was a woman.
While the sun was suddenly shining brighter for the rest of the world, it was setting for people in my country. Mob lynchings, riots, censorship, majority appeasement, and rape was the climate. Journalism and the freedom of the press was important more than ever.
I have written of wars, peace, and community in my work as a student journalist. At times, while writing in a language that wasn’t my own, different from the lullabies I was sung when growing up, different from the language I had gotten yelled at or praised in, it had felt like stealing something that wasn’t my own.
One way to understand the importance of journalism and the free press is to come from a place that doesn’t have it at all. Press freedom is not subjective. In fact, the freedom to access information and question those in power is the only thing in democracies around the world that holds insurmountable power.
In Grade 12, they made us cross out pages in our history and political science textbooks. A new syllabus was decided on by the men in power. Page by page, as our pencils crossed out moments in history, we played our parts in erasing the past.
As the news industry trembles and shrinks due to mass layoffs, whether it’s because of the Online News Act or lack of funding, it’s time to stop and reflect on how journalism has played a huge part in democracies around the world and the importance of protecting it now more than ever.
Last year, Bell Media and CBC/Radio-Canada slashed their workforces to address “budget shortfalls.” Vice Media laid off hundreds of employees and shut down its news website. Global News fired about three dozen people in Alberta, B.C., and Ontario in June.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that at least 164 journalists and media workers were killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon between 2023 and 2024, making it the “deadliest period for journalists” since the CPJ began collecting data in 1992.
I have woken up to Al Jazeera, CNN, and BBC News blasting through my T.V. every morning. Journalism has always been a part of my life some way or another, and it is only vital for every person to understand and witness the power it holds.
While there are problems with the industry, it is important as citizens and journalists to understand that journalism does not control democracy, it only allows for its peaceful co-existence. There are problems in the world that journalists can’t control, and objectivity is not always the holy grail, since it can often be weaponized against us.
Journalists in war zones around the world such as Gaza, Ukraine, and countless other places are killed every day for doing their jobs. Data by the CPJ reported at least 124 journalists and media workers have been killed around the world in 2024.
Silencing those who dare to speak against injustices, shutting down those who ask the hard questions, and choking those who report on inconsistencies does not signal the death of the press, it signals the death of democracy.
