Istitute for Cultural Relatios Policy Hua Rights Issues Series | 7 ICRP Human Rights Issues Series | 2017 Freedom of the press: a global outlook Authors | Álvaro Palomo Sabata, Dóra Vet, Annalisa Baldassarri, Kiera Wilkins, Adrienn Prieger, Asham Vohra, Aldoreza Prandana, Hannah Cartwright Editor | Álvaro Palomo Sabata Series Editor | András Lrincz Published by | Institute for Cultural Relations Policy Executive Publisher | Csilla Morauszki Institute for Cultural Relations Policy 1131 Budapest, Gyöngyösi u. 45. http://culturalrelations.org [email protected] HU ISSN 2064-2202 © Institute for Cultural Relations Policy Kulturális Kapcsolatokért Alapítvány, 2017 The information and views set out in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Institute for Cultural Relations Policy. Neither the Institute for Cultural Relations Policy and nor any person acting on its behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Content THE FREEDOM OF PRESS (Annalisa Baldassarri).................................................................. 1 THE INSECURE SITUATION OF ETHICAL JOURNALISM IN ITALY (Annalisa Baldassarri) ...................................................................... 4 INTERVIEW WITH MARCO CUNIBERTI (Annalisa Baldassarri) ..................................... 14 MEDIA LAWS IN HUNGARY AND POLAND (Aldoreza Prandana)................................... 23 IMPACTS OF WAR ON THE FREEDOM OF PRESS: THE UKRAINE CASE (Kiera Wilkins)................................................................................... 31 FREEDOM OF PRESS IN TURKEY (dr. Adrienn Prieger – Asham Vohra) .......................... 38 CHINA, CENSORSHIP, AND THE INTERNET (Hannah Cartwright).............................. 52 FREEDOM OF PRESS IN MEXICO: ORGANISED CRIME OPERATES WITH IMPUNITY (Álvaro Palomo Sabata) ................. 59 RESTRICTING, CONTROLLING AND OWNING THE MEDIA – CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATIONS IN VENEZUELA (Dóra Vető) .................................. 68 THE FREEDOM OF PRESS The freedom of speech represents the Independence in 1776, whose final outcome fundamental base of any democratic order. If was the creation of the first modern democratic we take this principle as assumption, it appears State along with the adoption of the first simple to speak about the freedom to hold an Constitution. Freedom of speech is now opinion and to express it as a necessity. This protected by many constitutions as a necessity derives from the social utility which is fundamental right and it is provided for by recognised to a liberty of this calibre, which International law. First of all, the above- allows people not to hide personal opinions and mentioned liberty finds its own protection convictions and to express them in order to within a milestone document in the history of discuss, criticise or shed a light on possible human rights; the Universal Declaration of different points of view. It follows that in this Human Rights, which was proclaimed by UN perspective any State order which used its General Assembly in 1948. Article 19 of the authority to put excessive restrictions to the Declaration reads as follow: “Everyone has the freedom of speech of both who align with its right to freedom of opinion and expression; this policy and those who oppose to it, would right includes freedom to hold opinions without nullify the social necessity of free thinking by interference and to seek, receive and impart preventing its own community to take part in information and ideas through any media and its development and possible changings. regardless of frontiers”.2 According to Dutch philosopher Spinoza’s political theory the freedom of speech must be Hence, what is the scope of a legislative defined as the first and inalienable liberty which provision created with the aim of protect and is, at the same time, the most easily and guarantee the freedom of speech within the stealthily manipulable.1 Before the freedom of society? It is fundamental to understand that expression became a right guaranteed by several the freedom of expression includes in its sphere constitutions, history has been characterised by other important rights. As we can learn from a long and bitter struggle. The recognition of the texts of various international documents as this particular freedom has always been well as from some constitutions; recognising the obstructed by political authorities as well as freedom of speech, first, entails the necessity to religious ones, because of two reasons: on one provide for a proper protection to the freedom hand the concern that free expression could of information, as a corollary. The above- become a danger to the ruling power and to the mentioned Article 19 of the Universal social and political order and, on the other Declaration of Human Rights clearly refers to hand the thread represented by anti-dogmatism the right “to seek, receive and impart information against theology. The turning point in the and ideas”. Another regulatory act approved by history of democratic societies was represented the Council of Europe during the same period by the outbreak of American War of (1950), that we can make reference to, is the 1 | FREEDOM OF THE PRESS: A GLOBAL OUTLOOK European Convention on Human Rights whose summarise some of the common limitations on Article 10 begins by including into the right to free expression by mentioning hypothesis freedom of expression, the “freedom to hold related to hate speech, classified information, opinions and to receive and impart information liber, right to privacy, public security, political and ideas” as well. A further completeness of correctness and so on. formulation may be found in some of the most recent acts, for instance, within Article 11 of The following pieces of work aim to conduct an the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the analysis of the current situation which European Union which corresponds to Article characterises the freedom of the press in 10 of the above-mentioned Convention on different countries. The freedom of press may Human Rights and which is entitled “Freedom be considered as the most traditional among the of expression and information”. It follows that other means of communication. There are to guarantee a freedom to information, which entities which work with the commitment of may be further split into right to inform and promoting and defending freedom of right to gain information from sources information and freedom of the press, such as accessible for everybody, requires for protection French NGO Reporters Without Borders 2016 World Press Freedom Index [Reporters Without Borders] over the different means through which (RSF) or American Freedom House. The work opinions and information can be delivered. It is carried out by these organisations has gained at this point that we can understand the importance by becoming more and more importance of a legislation whose objective is influential for government authorities. represented by the freedom of the media and Particularly, their sphere of activity includes the relationship between this freedom to other issues press releases, fact finding reports and rights. The freedom of the media is respected as periodical publications regarding issues related long as it is protected from interference by to the development of freedom of information public authority and regardless frontiers as well in specific regions. A publication which may as when media pluralism is safeguarded. But, represent a good starting point for the legal systems impose limitations, at the same dissertations is RSF’s World Freedom Index, time, on the freedom of speech, in regards to which is being unveiled every year since 2002. those cases in which this liberty conflicts with The index aims to provide a measurement of other basic values or rights. It is possible to the degree of freedom available to journalists in FREEDOM OF THE PRESS: A GLOBAL OUTLOOK | 2 180 countries.3 The outcome of the survey is against journalists, in the period evaluated, are determined by the combination of both considered in order to construct the index. The qualitative and quantitative data collected structure of the final outcome will describe the during a determined period of time. The situation of press freedom in the 180 countries qualitative analysis is conducted by pooling the by dividing them into determined categories, responses of experts to a questionnaire, which which evaluate the freedom available to evaluates data such as pluralism, media journalists as follows: good, fairly good, independence and media environment, self- problematic, bad and very bad. Followings censorship, legislative framework, transparency dissertations will deal with the tricky aspects and the quality of the infrastructure that related to freedom of the press by putting supports the production of news and attention on different set of problems information.4 The questionnaire is targeted at contextualising the issues within the framework the experts selected by RSF among lawyers, of International Law and International media professionals and sociologists. Therefore, Relations. quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence Notes 1: Full text available at: http://www.ritirifilosofici.it/?p=1375 2: Full text available at: http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights 3: More at: https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology 4: https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology