How The Free Press Can Be Tamed
A free-thinking, independent press is vital for a healthy democracy. Equally vital, though, are truth, integrity, and intelligent reporting.
Traditionally, governments seeking to be liberal and democratic have been hesitant to restrict the press, despite some of the media’s worst aberrations coming to the fore of the national consciousness.
Fake news, for example, has become a topic of intense debate over recent years. False reporting, both by foreign agencies interfering within elections, on social media, and by the traditional, mainstream news media has become rife. Untruths have come, in turn, to be the foundation for many people’s beliefs and ideas.
However, little has been done to tackle fake news — or little meaningful, at the very least.
Before this more recent trend, the press had become mired in privacy scandals — particularly relating to phone-hacking. News of the World, for example, folded in 2009 after becoming the centre of a scandal involving the phone-hacking of victims of rape and murder, with editor Piers Morgan disgraced.
However, Piers Morgan continues to thrive in the industry with shows in the UK and the US, and a broad social media presence. Owner Rupert Murdoch continues to…
