World Press Freedom Day 2006 – May 3rd

Each year, May 3 marks World Press Freedom Day when the importance of a free press to civil society is celebrated and the state of press freedom around the world is evaluated.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed May 3 as World Press Freedom Day in 1993 to be a reminder to the world that in many countries the independence of the media is threatened by government censorship of newspapers and other media, and in some cases, the lives of journalists are threatened as they work to bring light to issues of public importance.

In the United States, press freedom is protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, and the scope of that protection, over the years, has been expanded and defined by various U.S. Supreme Court cases.

 

Portal Sites

• Freedom of the Press, International Information Programs, U.S. Department of the State
  http://usinfo.state.gov/dhr/democracy/rule_of_law/press_freedom.html

• Democracy Dialogues: Freedom of Speech, International Information Programs, U.S. Department of the State
  http://www.democracy.gov/dd/democracy_dialogues/freedom_speech.html

• Internet Freedom, International Information Programs, U.S. Department of the State
  http://usinfo.state.gov/dhr/democracy/internet_freedom.html

• UNESCO: World Press Freedom Day 2006.
  http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=21468&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
  

Publications

     •  The Role of a Free Media, in the "Democracy Papers."
         http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/democracy/dmpaper8.htm

      •  A Free Press
         http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/principles/freepress.htm

      •  A Responsible Press Office
         http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/pressoffice/

      •  An Unfettered Press
         http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/press/

      •  Freedom of the Press
         http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/rightsof/press.htm

     •  Edward R. Murrow: Journalism at Its Best
        http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/murrow/index.htm
 

eJournals

     •  Media Emerging, March 2006 
        http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itgic/0203/ijge/ijge0203.htm

     •  Media & Ethics, April 2001
        http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itgic/0401/ijge/ijge0401.htm

    •  A Free Press, February 1997
       http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0297/ijde/ijde0297.htm
 

Other Resources

    •  Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment, Congressional Research Service, August 2003.
       http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/media/files/press1.pdf

    •  Freedom of Information Act, Department of Justice.
       http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/

    •  Compiled website of International Laws on Freedom of Information, University of Missouri.
       http://foi.missouri.edu/international.html

    •  International Press Freedom: ARTICLE 19.
       http://www.article19.org/
 

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