Media censorship is not an unusual phenomenon around the world, as it has been disapproved by right groups since ancient times. It had originated in ancient times when rulers and religious leaders imposed limitation on the press, with an aim to stop them from spreading information which might turn against them, and the activities conducted by them. Regardless of the differences in geographical location, religion, culture and the tradition, the motive for censorship has remained the same. The most widely used methods to control media are licensing and enacting laws which effectively restrict the freedom of press. Countries like Syria, Zimbabwe and Vietnam have laws and regulations that effectively limit the freedom of press and impose severe restrictions on journalists. Freedom House, an international human rights group, labels these countries as ‘not free’ as the governments impose several restrictions on the press and journalists. According to Universal Declaration of human rights, “freedom of expression is the right of every individual to hold opinions without any obstruction and to gather, find and reveal information and ideas through any media regardless of any frontiers”. In Malaysia, freedom of expression is guaranteed under Article 10(1)(a) of Federal Constitution, however, it is restricted by clause 2 of article 10 and article 4(2)(b). This essential human right is distorted and restricted through different act including Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, Official Secrets Act 1972, Sedition Act 1948 and others. Freedom of Press in Malaysia is associated with the existence of law governing the press. Several laws governing the press in Malaysia limits the press freedom in the country. Malaysia was ranked 146th arou...
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...han beneficial for the state. Although Article 19 of the UDHR ,which states that everyone has the right to freedom, does not create a binding effect to Malaysian law, Malaysia as a member of the United Nation should abide by this vow (Lim,2007). Newspaper publishers are restricted from writing fair and accurate information due to the strict regulations and government ownership of the firms thus misleading the public. Also, the government can misuse the laws that restrict the freedom of expression for their own political benefits.Wang (2001) argued that in order for Malaysia to remain as a democratic society; the press should have the freedom to write and criticize without fear from the government. Though the press may exploit their freedom to express, there is no reason for the Malaysian government to restrict them with regulations that only benefits the government.
“The 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan and the Press Law of July 1965 provided for freedom of the press subject to comprehensive articles of proper behavior. According to the Press Law, the press was free (i.e., independent of government ownership) but must protect the interests of the state and constitutional monarchy, Islam, and public order. When the government was overthrown in July of 1973, 19 newspapers were shut down. Western-style freedom of the press has methodically eroded during the regimes of dictatorship, communism, Mujahidin factions, and the Taliban ("Press Reference–Afghanistan").” When it comes to law enforcement, it is the duty of the ruling power to carry it out. But when the ruling power promulgates laws that sternly go against the freedoms guaranteed by previous edicts of the country, the civilians have no choice but to endure the reality of a deprived life.
Since this country was founded, we have had a set of unalienable rights that our constitution guarantees us to as Americans. One of the most important rights that is mentioned in our constitution is the right to free speech. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
According to the U.S. constitution and thereunder the first amendment, the press is said to be free, and the government cannot legally prohibit this freedom. Overall, the press holds an enormous responsibility. It is the watchdog of the community, the guarder of the government and the public. They provide an unofficial form of checks and balances on the government by informing the public on what the government is doing. Through this, they can persuade the public to view things in from one perspective or another. They have been given the constitutional right to do this.
...o show these journalists as a state enemy in people mind.Thus, Recep Tayyip Erdogan the Prime Minister of Turkey see these journalist as an enemy against him,actually he tried to show they as terrorists.Having said that, in 2010, journalists established ''Journalist's Freedom Platform'' and arranged a press release in order to say that there is a problem in terms of freedom of speech and press.On the top of that, also government made a opression on media bosses.As an important example for this, during the Gezi occupy which is a huge demonstrations that created significant inflation against government, most media company did not mention about these issues, especially, at the begining of the demonstrations, people could not see these demonstrations on TV.What I want to say that, as it can clearly seen that the government supressed the media very highly like in fascism.
The media censorship appears in various forms and in almost all countries; few have legal systems that guarantee absolute freedom of the media.
Censorship has been used by governments and influential groups throughout history as a tool for political and economic gain since ancient times. The Romans thought censorship was necessary to shape the morals of society to match up with government ideals. During the 1500's the Catholic Church banned certain texts that conflicted with the established religion from being read. In these times the idea of censorship was viewed differently that it is today. With powerful organizations limiting information it was often impossible for an average person to obtain literature or hear ideas that vary from state ideals, they probably didn't even know that their information was being censored. We live in a different age today, information is more readily available and censorship is often looked at as a negative practice that limits freedoms. That said, it still exists today and can be viewed as an obstacle to true democracy.
According to Dahl, this criterion emphasizes that citizens must have the equal and effective opportunities to learn about politics surrounding them (1998, 38). The goal of enlightened understanding is to ensure that citizens can make the best decisions that serve their interests. Analyzing freedom of press is an effective indicator to measure enlightened understanding because media is the best medium that citizens could access to learn about what is going on in their government. Without freedom of press, freedom of expression of journalists and scholars are violated and thus, they might encounter difficulties in reporting about politics. Although India has the Right to Information Act, which assures the promotion of "transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority," it is not being enforced enough (2005, 1). According to a research, India 's press status is evaluated as "partly free" (Freedom House, 2014). Furthermore, the press status of India 's score stands at 39 out of 100, where 0 represents the freest status and 100 represents the least free status (Sinha, 2014). In the World Press Freedom Index, India was ranked as the 140th out of 180 countries in terms of freedom of media (Reporters Without Borders ,
Censorship according to the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press can be defined as, “To remove anything offensive from books, films, etc., or to remove parts considered unsuitable from private letters, especially ones sent during war or from a prison”(Cambridge Dictionary). Censorship in the news and in the media takes many forms in todays fast paced world. Even with the slightly leak in information or even misleading information could cause todays world to be turned on its head and can cause people to interpret the issue in many ways which could have numerous implications. This is why such information is filtered by some governments around the world before it is aired or printed. There are countless arguments as to why or why not information should be censored as each individual is entitled to their own opinion. Censorship impacts people ability to choose freely as it is controls ideas and thoughts and thus influences their freedom of expression or their to express their views on issues, ideologies or even practice their faith.
Every human possesses some guaranteed basic freedoms and rights, whether it is the freedom of speech, or the freedom to express themselves. However, the government seems to be increasingly determined to limit these freedoms using censorship to confine these rights that we usually take for granted. The most important facet of media in general is that it allows people to express themselves freely. In fact, this freedom of expression that music allows us is one of the primary reasons why it exists. Sadly, many of the current artists have forgotten that, but nonetheless, censorship seems to always be there to limit the expression of those who choose to place deeper messages in their songs. Tackling censorship is much more important than it appears to be at the surface; to take down censorship would help preserve the expression of thought. It would help preserve the right to listen to the unaltered forms of everything. Most importantly, it would help preserve the rapidly weakening basic right of speech.
It is the year 2014. The growth and advancement in technology and innovation lead to the birth of new channels of media. Back tracking to the 1950s, the primary source of media would have been printed such as newspapers, articles and magazines. The introduction of the televisions and cinemas in the late 20th century resulted in the production of masterpieces such as movies and dramas alike. Currently, the internet is the unified source for all kinds of media which gives allows us to freely express and exhibit our perspectives and ideas. On the other hand, this revolution in the media industry saw the production of certain media that are unsuitable for certain audiences. Thus, government bodies such as Malaysia’s Multimedia and Communication Commission are set up to selectively evaluate and censor contents to ensure that media would not be harmful to the public. Therefore, this essay strives to prove that censorship is sometimes justified.
A good example of this is in China, where Google has been censored by a provider called The Great Firewall of China, which censors information that could be viewed as defamatory or insulting to Chinese government and culture. According to the article “Google turns off China censorship warning” as published by BBC News Technology, “Google has had a rocky relationship with the Chinese authorities since January 2010, when the company said it may shut down Chinese operations due to a ‘sophisticated and targeted’ cyber attack. Google said at the time that it was no longer willing to censor the Google search engine”. Many journalists have also taken a look at Egypt, which also utilizes censorship. According to “Egyptian authorities step up censorship” as published by the Committee to Protect Journalists website, the new military-run Egyptian government is censoring news outlets and keep journalists, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates.
Press freedom takes influential place in a country. It represents citizen's freedom of speech and the right to know. Media can expose news without obstructor or any controls by government and organizations. There should not be control over the press and press freedom is necessary for regulation the growth of corruption, development of economy and maintenance of democracy.
Censorship has been around since B.C. times and originated in Rome. Censorship was enforced to protect our society by not allowing explicit content to be viewed in the media. It also protects child pornography and secret government information leaks. The problem is in some cases are hard to determine on what should be censored because even though something might be explicit content it portrays the point the publisher is trying to make. On the flip some people believe that these extreme crime scenes seen in media have caused people to commit these crimes in real life. Although the article, Broadcast Decency Rules delivers a somewhat convincing and effective argument, I disagree that the media should be censored.
Freedom of speech and expression is one of the fundamental liberties provided under article 10 of the Federal Constitution. Article 10 provide that, “every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression. This provision explains that every person has the right to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without government interference. Therefore, all Malaysian citizen have the right to express views abud through various ways either through articles, books, radio broadcasting or communication of internet. However, the freedom of speech and expression in Malaysia is not absolute and subject to certain restrictions thus a person cannot simply speak whatever he wants.
Censorship affects our society in many different ways, it affects the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the books we read, and many other aspects of our everyday lives. Even though many might argue that censorship doesn't really have a place in a society that emphases freedom of speech and the freedom to express oneself, but censorship is an essential and needed part of our growing society, it's needed in the television industry, the Internet, and the music industry. Censorship helps to make our world a better place because it creates a better environment for us to live in.