Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Press, Research Paper Example

One of the characteristics of developed countries that distinguishes them from developing countries is a greater degree of freedom of speech and freedom of press enjoyed by their citizens. But like any other right, freedom of press also comes with obligations. The press should have the right to express its opinions without unnecessary censorship by the government, keep the public informed on local and global issues, expose both negative and positive aspects of the society, and be a voice of the common person but that doesn’t mean the press should have absolute freedom of speech. If the press assumes absolute freedom of speech, it may do more harm to the society than good, thus, press should exercise its right to free speech responsibly in order to maximize the overall welfare of the society.

Free speech and free press has often been called one of the major characteristics of prosperous and truly democratic societies. But we often have a tendency to go with the flow of the majority opinion which is also called ‘groupthink’. The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze the issue of freedom of the press. It may appear to be a logical position that giving more freedom to press does benefit the society as it gives more voice to the public and monitor government’s conduct. But at the same time, press is also controlled by individuals who may be tempted to pursue their economic benefits and help advance their own personal ideology. In the U.S., five major media companies help form the public opinion which are Time Warner, VIACOM, Vivendi Universal, Walt Disney, and News Corp (Hubpages). I have taken the position that free press is indeed desirable and should be promoted but there is no such thing as absolute right to free speech. Every right comes with responsibilities and press should also use its right to free speech responsibly.

One of the benefits of college education is that it teaches us the difference between an opinion and speech and tells us the importance of verifying facts before believing in their truthfulness. But even in developed countries like the U.S., the number of people with college degrees is still in a minority. Only 29 percent of Americans had at least an undergraduate degree as of 2005 (Yamamoto, 2007) and if this is the situation in U.S., one can only imagine the education levels in developing countries. Studies have shown that there is a negative relationship between education level and levels of prejudice (Long, 2007) which means that education helps us get rid of our prejudices and stereotypes and enable us to become more objective thinkers. Since most people are without college degrees and, thus, not sophisticated enough to understand the importance of verifying facts, media should be more objective in its reporting. But media often presents opinions as facts under the pretext of free speech which only reinforces stereotypes and prejudice in the society.

There is a concept in psychology and cognitive science called confirmation bias which refers to the tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one’s perceptions (Science Daily). This may explain why Fox News is more popular among conservatives in the U.S. and CNN and MSNBC are preferred by liberals. The media channels understand that one key to maintaining viewership and even increasing it is to emotionally arouse the audience. The media, thus, exploit areas of strong emotional arousal to further shape the opinions and belief systems of their respective viewers and lead to further polarization of the society. The media’s main responsibility should be to inform on both sides and not promote a particular belief system. In addition, the media should also help the public understand the difference between opinions and facts. Many news journalists mask their opinions as facts because they do not have the same burden to back their claims like some other professionals such as scientists.

As with any other right, even the right to free speech cannot be considered absolute. Like U.S., many European countries are also proud of their free speech traditions yet denial of holocaust is illegal in many European nations including France and Hungary (The Wall Street Journal (Europe Edition), 2010). Similarly, even in the freest countries, press often cannot print sensitive state secrets because it harms the state’s ability to protect its citizens from either enemy or terrorists. This provides us a good yardstick with which to measure the limitations of free speech by the press. It may be right to limit press’ right to free speech if the potential costs may exceed the benefits.

One of the characteristics of free societies is the respect for individuals as well as different ethnicities and groups that reside within it. This is why media often faces strong condemnation by the public for use of offensive words that may degrade certain ethnic groups such as African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics. This is another example that right to free speech also comes with certain responsibilities and press is no exception. Only physical violence doesn’t hurt but words can also hurt and create divisions in the society. When one has power, one should also exercise it responsibly and press should be no exception given the amount of power it yields in shaping public opinion. Absolute right to free speech means the press can say anything it wants, without any exception and that would include hate speech, too. Similarly, irresponsible reporting by the media could also have significant negative consequences. Had the media been more objective in their coverage of Iraq war and had not blindly supported every claim by the Bush Administration, the American public support for war might have been lower.

Media should take a note or two from the scientific community. Scientists are required to back up their claims with evidence or proof which reduces the potential of personal bias. It also means that scientists do their homework well before making a claim or presenting a new theory. When they present a potential idea, they often call it hypothesis so that the public is aware it is merely a speculation and not a proven fact. This also increases public trust in the scientific community. Similarly, media should make an active effort verify its facts before presenting them to the public and also make a clear distinction between facts and opinions. Similarly, when media is wrong it should be willing to admit it.

One of the basic premises of justice is that one is not guilty until proven. But public opinion does shape the functioning of the legal system. The most recent example is Travyon Martin’s case which has occupied the whole nation. Whether the suspect George Zimmerman violated his authority as a neighborhood watchman or not can only be found through proper investigation and only court has the right to determine whether Zimmerman should be held guilty or not. But media’s coverage of the incident has been mostly in favor of holding Zimmerman responsible and the resulting public opinion has the potential to affect the eventual outcome of the case. The key to find out the truth is not emotions but objective search for truth.

There are also other issues such as citizens’ rights to privacy that may be violated by media’s unconstrained use of free speech. One stakeholder that often comes to mind are public figures such as celebrities. Celebrities’ professional lives may be part of the public arena but they also have a right to privacy. Even government officeholders such as Congress members enjoy the right to privacy even though their professional lives are part of the public domain. Media mostly only expose politicians’ private lives when they may have engaged in unethical behavior or violated the spirit of the public office they hold. Celebrities may be public figures but that doesn’t automatically make their families public figures as well. But since the general public is obsessed with celebrities, the media does not hesitate to invade celebrities’ private lives in pursuit of economic gains.

The media does have the right to free speech but it is not absolute in nature. Like every other right in free societies, even right to free speech also comes with responsibilities and media should understand its professional and ethical obligations. The audience is not always educated and may not be able to differentiate between facts and opinions. In addition, media has powerful influence on the public opinion, thus, media should use the power to shape public opinion responsibly or it may harm the overall welfare of the society. The media should also understand that the news it communicates to the public could also hamper the ability of certain institutions and organizations to function properly, thus, it should be as objective in its coverage of news events as possible. Media should also help bring harmony in the society and this is why hate speech and culturally sensitive words must not be used even though some may call such prohibitions violations of free speech. The truth is reached by looking at both sides of the mirror, thus, media should not enforce biases and opinions but instead educate the public and help them have a better understanding of the issues involved.

References

Hubpages. (n.d.). Mass Media Influence on Society. Retrieved April 14, 2012, from http://rayuso.hubpages.com/hub/Mass-Media-Influence-on-Society

Long, R. (2007, August 18). Prejudice: Its Forms and Causes. Retrieved April 14, 2012, from http://dmc122011.delmar.edu/socsci/rlong/race/far-02.htm

Science Daily. (n.d.). Confirmation bias. Retrieved April 14, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/c/confirmation_bias.htm

The Wall Street Journal (Europe Edition). (2010, March 11). Holocaust Denial Will Be Illegal in Hungary From April. Retrieved April 14, 2012, from http://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2010/03/11/holocaust-denial-will-be-illegal-in-hungary-from-april/

Yamamoto, J. (2007, September 26). Only 29 percent of Americans have a college degree. Retrieved April 12, 2012, from http://www.theolympian.com/2007/09/26/227366/only-29-percent-of-americans-have.html