World Association of Newspapers Urges Governments to Balance Stricter Security Without Infringing Upon The Freedom of The Press

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World Association of Newspapers Urges Governments to Balance Stricter Security Without Infringing Upon The Freedom of The Press

The World Association of Newspapers says it fears that as governments enhance security precautions many of their measures are being used to restrict the free flow of information. Seeking to find a balance between the two, WAN, for World Press Freedom Day, issued the following manifesto calling on governments and their agencies:

follow-up to:

Today Is World Press Freedom Day, Hurrah – Except In Many Places In Our World Journalists Have Little Joy, Just Harassment and Imprisonment - May 3, 2007
Today is World Press Freedom Day, a day, as the United Nations reminds us, to remember the media’s vital role in promoting sustainable peace, democracy and development. And yet conditions for independent media are worsening in many parts of the world, threatening democracy and human rights, according to the non-governmental Freedom House that has issued a chilling report on the decline in press freedoms globally, and how Internet freedom in particular is under siege in some countries.

- To guarantee public availability of officially held data, information and archives accessible under Freedom of Information laws or related legal provisions. Stricter security classifications may be called for when it comes to sensitive military and intelligence issues, but there must also be strict reviews to guard against unjustified attempts to limit public scrutiny, particularly that of political decisions.

- To guarantee the rightof journalists to protect their confidential sources of information, as a necessary requirement for a free press. The existing legal protections available in both national and international laws must be upheld.

- To make electronic surveillance of communications dependent on judicial authorization, control or review, to protect the imperative independence and confidentiality of newsgathering. Governments must ensure that technological advances do not undermine the legal protections of journalists and hinder the ability of the press to play its “watchdog” role.

- To ensure that searches of journalists’ offices or homes are conducted uniquely by warrant issued only when there is proven ground for suspicion of lawbreaking, so as to uphold the right to protect confidential journalistic sources and thus press freedom. The power to seize documents must also be based on a lawful warrant and on firmly grounded suspicions.

- To guarantee journalists the right to cover all sides of a story, including that of alleged terrorists, and to restrain from any hasty and unjustified criminalization of speech. Broad and vague definitions of speech offences can evidently be used to restrict free speech, including the analysis of extreme discourse, stands or actions, and governments should not use criminal law to stifle critical reporting and opinion.

- To abstain from prosecuting journalists who published classified information. In free societies, courts have held that it is the job of governments, not journalists, to protect official secrets, subject to the common sense decisions that editors normally make against, for instance, endangering lives.

- To abstain from resorting to “black” propaganda – in other words, peacetime use of government services to plant false or misleading articles masquerading as normal journalism as well as the false use of journalistic identities by intelligence agents. Not only do such disinformation practices misinform the public, they also undermine the credibility of real journalism.

WAN, represents some 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 76 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and 10 regional and world-wide press groups. – May 3, 2007

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	World Association of Newspapers Urges Governments to Balance Stricter Security Without Infringing Upon The Freedom of The Press The World Association of Newspapers says it fears that as governments enhance security precautions many of their measures are being used to restrict the free flow of information. Seeking to find a balance between the two, WAN, for World Press Freedom Day, issued the following manifesto calling on governments and their agencies: follow-up to: Today Is World Press Freedom Day, Hurrah – Except In Many Places In Our World Journalists Have Little Joy, Just Harassment and Imprisonment - May 3, 2007 Today is World Press Freedom Day, a day, as the United Nations reminds us, to remember the media’s vital role in promoting sustainable peace, democracy and development. And yet conditions for independent media are worsening in many parts of the world, threatening democracy and human rights, according to the non-governmental Freedom House that has issued a chilling report on the decline in press freedoms globally, and how Internet freedom in particular is under siege in some countries. - To guarantee public availability of officially held data, information and archives accessible under Freedom of Information laws or related legal provisions. Stricter security classifications may be called for when it comes to sensitive military and intelligence issues, but there must also be strict reviews to guard against unjustified attempts to limit public scrutiny, particularly that of political decisions. - To guarantee the rightof journalists to protect their confidential sources of information, as a necessary requirement for a free press. The existing legal protections available in both national and international laws must be upheld. - To make electronic surveillance of communications dependent on judicial authorization, control or review, to protect the imperative independence and confidentiality of newsgathering. Governments must ensure that technological advances do not undermine the legal protections of journalists and hinder the ability of the press to play its “watchdog” role. - To ensure that searches of journalists’ offices or homes are conducted uniquely by warrant issued only when there is proven ground for suspicion of lawbreaking, so as to uphold the right to protect confidential journalistic sources and thus press freedom. The power to seize documents must also be based on a lawful warrant and on firmly grounded suspicions. - To guarantee journalists the right to cover all sides of a story, including that of alleged terrorists, and to restrain from any hasty and unjustified criminalization of speech. Broad and vague definitions of speech offences can evidently be used to restrict free speech, including the analysis of extreme discourse, stands or actions, and governments should not use criminal law to stifle critical reporting and opinion. - To abstain from prosecuting journalists who published classified information. In free societies, courts have held that it is the job of governments, not journalists, to protect official secrets, subject to the common sense decisions that editors normally make against, for instance, endangering lives. - To abstain from resorting to “black” propaganda – in other words, peacetime use of government services to plant false or misleading articles masquerading as normal journalism as well as the false use of journalistic identities by intelligence agents. Not only do such disinformation practices misinform the public, they also undermine the credibility of real journalism. WAN, represents some 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 76 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and 10 regional and world-wide press groups. – May 3, 2007 Keywords:journalists killed,press freedom
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	Further Complicated: Advertising, Children and Television Advertising and television face more complaints, criticism and new rules. ftm reports on the debate in Europe and North America 43 pages PDF file (March 2007) Free to ftm members and others from €39 See what's inside Order The State of the Print Media in the World ftm reports from the World Association of Newspapers Congresses. Includes WAN readership studies, Russian media and Russian politics, press freedom and the state of journalism. 62 pages. PDF file (October 2006) Free to ftm members and others from €39 Order Measuring Audiences includes electronic measurement systems and device descriptions, RAJAR (UK) debate, with comments. 45 pages PDF (updated September 2006) Free to ftm members, others from €39 Order French National Newspapers publishers, designs, editors all change, with comments. 40 pages PDF (updated July 2006) Free to ftm members, others from €39 Executive Summary Order

World Association of Newspapers Urges Governments to Balance Stricter Security Without Infringing Upon The Freedom of The Press

follow-up to:

Further Complicated: Advertising, Children and Television

The State of the Print Media in the World

Measuring Audiences

French National Newspapers publishers, designs, editors all change, with comments. 40 pages PDF (updated July 2006)

French National Newspapers
publishers, designs, editors all change, with comments. 40 pages PDF (updated July 2006)