3/18/2023 0 Comments Freedome of pressIt is freedom of the press, and not freedom of expression, which makes available to the general public political information upon which the public relies to make daily decisions and choices that enhance democracy. Governments would not be obliged to give answers to explain why they did certain actions if called upon to do so by any member of the public using his or her right to freedom of expression. It is freedom of the press that the media enjoy that makes the Fourth Estate or branch of democratic governance which is responsible for making people in government publicly accountable and responsible for their actions or the lack of them. Sources are not likely to cooperate in giving information to a member of the general public who demands it in the name of freedom of expression. It is freedom of the press, not of expression, that enables journalists to gather information which they communicate to the public. It is clear that whoever amended the Constitution was under the impression that freedom of the press and freedom of expression are one and the same thing. Regarding freedom of the press, Article 20, Section 2 merely states that “subject to the provisions of this Constitution a law shall not make any provision that derogates from freedom of the press.” Because of the lack of a specific protection of freedom of the press in the Constitution, the Courts in Zambia have not respected, for instance, the right of journalists not to reveal sources to whom they have promised not to make their identity known. Article 20 of the Constitution protects freedom of expression while merely mentioning freedom of the press in a rather incongruent connection. Kasoma, in Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications, 2003 V.B Guarantees of Freedom of the Press and of Expression in the Constitutionįreedom of the press is not expressly protected under the Zambian Constitution. Likewise, a 1997 study of the impact of libel law on the media both in England and in Scotland concluded, ‘(A) solicitor's advice is just that, and…on occasion editors do decide to ignore it’ (Barendt et al. No less important is the fact that journalists, the integral part of the media system, are more often responsible than lawyers for determining what to broadcast or publish or what not to broadcast or publish in the US. Nonetheless, the journalist–lawyer relationship is not necessarily harmful to freedom of the press insofar as lawyers are sufficiently ‘sensitive to the murky line between legal advice and journalistic or artistic judgment’ (Smolla 1999). CBS News anchor Dan Rather claimed: ‘I'd rather take my chances in front of a jury than take my chances in front of corporate lawyers' (Grossman 1996). Some journalists are concerned about the chilling effect of lawyers’ presence in and outside the American newsroom. Lawyers in newsrooms have now become a fact of life for many, if not all, reporters and editors in dealing with a host of legal problems ranging from libel to access to information. Youm, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001 5 Preventive Counseling for News Mediaīecause freedom of the press is litigated in increasing frequency in the US, England, and other countries, media organizations involve lawyers in prebroadcasting and prepublication reviews. Likewise, a thoughtful UK study of the impact of defamation law on the media both in England and in Scotland concluded “(A) solicitor's advice is just that and … on occasion editors do decide to ignore it” ( Barendt et al., 1997). No less important is the fact that journalists as the integral part of the media system are more often responsible than lawyers for determining what to broadcast or publish or what not to broadcast or publish. Nonetheless, the journalist–lawyer relationship is not necessarily harmful to freedom of the press insofar as lawyers are sufficiently ‘sensitive to the sometimes murky line between legal advice and journalistic or artistic judgment’ ( Smolla, 2014b). Some journalists are concerned about the chilling effect of lawyers' presence in and outside the American newsroom. Lawyers in newsrooms have now become a fact of life for many, if not all, reporters and editors in dealing with a host of legal problems ranging from defamation to access to information. Kyu Ho Youm, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), 2015 Preventive Counseling for News Mediaīecause freedom of the press is litigated in increasing frequency in the United States, England, and other countries, media organizations involve lawyers in prebroadcasting and prepublication reviews.
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