Freedom Of Press

861 Words4 Pages
Should freedom of press be absolute? Give comments with reference to reasonable restrictions stated in the constitution. “The basis of a successful democracy is liberty.” -Aristotle(Greek Statesman and philosopher) Albert Camus(1957 noble prize for literature) had once quoted, “A free press can of course be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom it can not be anything but bad. Freedom is nothing else but a chance to better, whereas enslavement is a certainty of the worse.” Freedom of the press is an essential building block in the making of a successful democracy. It has rightly been called the fourth estate or the forth pillar of democracy, the other three being Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. The press performs the critical function of keeping tabs on the other three estates of democracy, by keeping the common man informed about the actions of people in office. The free press has in the past played a vital role in safeguarding the interest of the people and will continue to do so; this has been possible since the press operates as a free entity. The proverb ‘The pen is mightier than the sword’ has ensured the sacrifice of numerous brave men and women on the altar of integrity, in the pursuit of truth, which, thanks to a free press has seldom has gone in vain, these are people of passion, and censorship will not make them give up their desire to find the truth, but what the freedom of press ensures is that their sacrifices do not go in vain. The most powerful person responsible for progress is a critique, and who is a better critique in society if not the media? The implications of press censorship has been well summarised by Clare Luce, “Censorship, like charity, should begin at home, but unlike charity it should end there.” Another dimension to the freedom of press is its misuse. The infamous practice of sensationalising
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