Søren Dosenrode [Ed.] Freedom of the Press On Censorship, Self-censorship, and Press Ethics Nomos Søren Dosenrode [Ed.] Freedom of the Press On Censorship, Self-censorship, and Press Ethics Nomos © Foto Cover: istockphoto.com Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. ISBN 978-3-8329-5184-9 1. Auflage 2010 © Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden-Baden 2010. Printed in Germany. Alle Rechte, auch die des Nachdrucks von Auszügen, der fotomechanischen Wiedergabe und der Übersetzung, vorbehalten. Gedruckt auf alterungsbeständigem Papier. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically those of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, broadcasting, reproduction by photocopying machine or similar means, and storage in data banks. Under § 54 of the German Copyright Law where copies are made for other than private use a fee is payable to »Verwertungsgesellschaft Wort«, Munich. Table of Contents Preface ............................................................................................ 7 Søren Dosenrode Section One Kaj Munk Chapter One: Approaching the Questions of Freedom of the Press, Censorship, Self-Censorship, and Press Ethics ..................................... 11 Søren Dosenrode Chapter Two: Kaj Munk as a Journalist ............................................. 21 Arense Lund Chapter Three: Kaj Munk in and between the World Wars. Official and Political Censorship. ......................................................................... 26 Svend Aage Nielsen Section Two The Press under Strain Chapter Four: German Press in the Third Reich ................................. 43 Beate Schneider Chapter Five: Betrayal, Heroism and Everyday Life in the Norwegian Press during the German Occupation of Norway 1940-1945 .................. 59 Rune Ottosen Chapter Six: The Danish Press during the German Occupation: Between Indirect and Direct Control and from Dominant to Negotiated Reading .. 79 Palle Roslyng-Jensen Chapter Seven: The Press in Eastern Europe during the Cold War ........ 97 Peter Schiwy 5 Chapter Eight: Walking on a Knife's Edge: Freedom of Press in Turkey .. 103 Yusuf Kanli Section Three Religion, Politics and the Press Chapter Nine: A Battle for Freedom of Speech .................................... 113 Anders Raahauge Chapter Ten: Time to Re-Think Press Freedom? ................................. 116 Julian Petley Chapter Eleven: Comments to Julian Petley’s article ........................... 121 Barry White Chapter Twelve: Conflicting Readings: The Cartoon Crisis seen from Pakistan .......................................................................................... 126 Elisabeth Eide Chapter Thirteen: The Cold war Triumph of Radio Free Europe .......... 149 Arch Puddington Section Four The Press as a Political Instrument Chapter Fourteen: Democracy and the Media: A Social Contract Dissolved? ....................................................................................... 173 Jesper Strömbäck List of Contributers .......................................................................... 193 Index .............................................................................................. 197 6 Preface At the Kaj Munk Research Center at Aalborg University it has become tradition to invite for an academic seminar held each year around September 29, the day the Danish cooperation with the German occupying forces broke down in 1943. The topics of the seminars are always related to the Danish priest, dramatist, poet and journalist Kaj Munk, who was killed by a German SS-group in January 1944. The seminar “From Munk to Mohammed – Freedom of the Press, Censorship, Self- censorship, and Press Ethics” was such a seminar, where a number of known, inter- national experts had been invited to participate and contribute. The reason for the topic of this seminar was two if not threefold. First, the Danish ‘Mohammed Cartoon Crisis’ did cast an immediate light on the question of freedom of the press, censorship, self- censorship and press ethics, but seemingly this discussion goes on now years after the concrete incident and indeed it is important to be aware of threats to press freedom and their consequences. Secondly Kaj Munk, as journalist and author was censored before and during the Second World War, and did show that censorship can be defied; al- though the price he paid was high. And thirdly, it was our impression, that the newer literature contains certain lacunae as it occurs to be atomized in character in the sense that it looks at press freedom in one single country, or relates to one specific period, or be of a very juridical nature. It is obvious that this book does not fill all lacunae, but it does attempt to give the discussion a historical dimension as well as to draw on the experience of practitioners concerning the situation of the press today, in countries where being a member of the press is not without personal danger. I let Noam Chomsky remind us of one consequence of the freedom of speech:1 If you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you don't like. Goebbels was in favor of freedom of speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you're in favor of freedom of speech, that means you're in favor of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise. I am happy to thank The Jyllands-Posten Foundation and The Obelske Family Foun- dation for their generous support for the seminar without which we could not have made it, and to thank Andrea von Dosenrode, LLM, and Jørgen Albretsen, MSc, for their kind, professional help with this manuscript. Søren Dosenrode Director of Research Kaj Munk Research Center Aalborg University 1 A similar stand you find in Chromsky: Free speech in a Democracy, Daily Camera, September, 1985. 7 = Section One Kaj Munk Chapter One: Approaching the Questions of Freedom of the Press, Censorship, Self- Censorship, and Press Ethics Søren Dosenrode […] the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments (Virginia Bill of Rights, article 12, 1776) Free circulation of information (and since the invention of the book press, a free press)1 has always been a thorn in the side of adherents of totalitarianism, be it in a political, a cultural or a religious form. Freedom of the press can be restricted in many ways: through more or less official censorship, but also through self-censorship where the journalist does not write what the state, the society, his superior, or his colleagues would not like to hear. The motives for such behavior are many and could include fear, opportunism or simply the fact that it is easier. This raises the ethical question of how the press should behave when it is under strain, under pressure from the state or from the surrounding society: should it conform, or go into opposition? Thus the purpose of this book is to analyze the role and behavior of the press when it finds itself under pressure from totalitarian forces of various kinds. Casting a quick glance on history reminds us that free expression of one’s thoughts is not an old freedom, and also that it was not always looked upon without reservation, e.g. Socrates was sentenced to death for ‘corrupting’ the youth with his conversations and speeches. The institution of the censor in Rome was looked upon positively, as it helped shape the youth in the correct manner etc. (Newth 2001). Still, proponents of freedom of expression did exist, as this verse of Euripides, written about 450 BC in- dicates (cited in Newth 2001): This is true Liberty when free born men Having to advise the public may speak free, Which he who can, and will, deserves high praise, Who neither can nor will, may hold his peace; What can be more just in a State then this? But the basic freedom of the press was not a topic until the 17th century, where John Milton wrote a tract to the English Parliament, the “Areopagitica” in 1644 (Newth 2001). He did not plead for unlimited freedom of the press, but for unlimited right to publish, and then to defend one’s writings in the courts, if one had caused offense. He was strictly against pre-publishing censorship as it was practiced then. Freedom of the press in our sense of the word first occurred as a legal right in the Virginia Bill of Rights from 1776 (see above) which undoubtedly inspired the founding 1 Where nothing else is explicitly stated, the term ‘freedom of the press’ is used synonymously with ‘freedom of information’ and ‘freedom of expression’. 11 fathers of the United States of America to add it to their constitution in 1791 as the first amendment: Congress shall make no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. In spite of the emerging understanding of the freedom of the press as essential among the ‘enlightened’ elite, this idea was not unchallenged, e.g. the Prussian Georg Hegel (1770 – 1831) was not keen on people’s unlimited right to speak and comment on everything, and he was thus in opposition to his contemporaries like the Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859), who saw the freedom of the press as the main instrument with which to secure freedom.