Third place
Stephen Pianin
Woodrow Wilson High School
Washington, D.C.
Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States, was a major advocate of freedom of the press, even though he felt journalists sometimes treated him unfairly. In 1787, Jefferson said, "…were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." By saying this, he stressed the immense importance that free and independent news media play in a well-informed, democratic society. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives Americans the freedom to speak their minds and write and publish what they think is right, without dear of being punished or imprisoned by the government. This means that a newspaper can publish highly critical things about the government without fear of being censured or shut down. Even in cases in which the government has attempted to restrain a free press, the courts have upheld the newspapers’ right to publish their articles.
For example, in 1971, in the Pentagon Papers case, the Nixon administration attempted to prevent the New York Times and Washington Post from publishing articles about the inside story of the government’s handling of the Vietnam War. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the newspapers’ right to publish.
In contrast, citizens of many other countries do not have the right of free speech — as seen in Iran and China. When Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, won reelection in 2009, accusations of electoral fraud sparked mass protests throughout the country. During this period, many newspapers covering the protests were closed by Iranian officials. Several reporters were arrested, and on June 16, the Ministry of Culture issued a ban preventing all foreign media from leaving their offices.
In China, censorship of the media by the country’s ruling party, the Communist Party of China, has emerged as a major issue. In order to preserve power over the people and prevent revolutionary ideas, the government has banned television networks, Internet, book publishers, and other forms of media from discussing topics that promote democratic ideas or independence. Recently, the Chinese government caused further controversy by imposing even stricter rules on the Internet. One of these new policies grants the government access to the pages of all personal website operators. Merely referring to this law would prompt outrage in countries like the U.S.
As Jefferson pointed out over two hundred years ago, a free and independent press is one of the most important rights a society possesses. Free and independent news media is one of the most important things for a society to possess. Not only does a free and vital news media, keep the government in check, but it is also allows individuals to freely share and gain new idea, causing a social transcendence.