Journalism spends time maintaining democracy by covering the stories that flow with entertainment and providing news by making readers aware of the current situation. Also, the media should speak up for the voiceless.
Also through this art the values of fashion, food, music, education, movies and religion can all be released to the society and real journalists do not work to divide on the basis of race, religion, caste, party, color etc.
The social responsibility of the news media is not only to report the news but also to present their social aspects as well as legal status. If it is not done as much as possible, the news will remain as news. It is clear that real journalists are doing their duty as much as possible.
It is said that a journalist or an institution should not act solely for profit, as large numbers of people may suffer if they do not report news that is close to the truth or if it is for profit only. The real journalist is a sociologist. A detective. A valuable spy. A betrayer. He writes and raises his voice only for the betterment of society. There he deserves work justice to death. It is also alleged that the media is responsible for about 50% of the current devastation in Sri Lanka. A media institution has been identified as the ‘4th government’.
Journalism is so powerful in Sri Lanka that it forms and destroys governments and acts as purely political parties. In Sri Lanka, however, such a situation does not exist in the media in other parts of the world. However, there are great journalists all over Sri Lanka who are unable to speak out on behalf of the people because they have to work with the “Mudalali class” media institutions.
May 3 was declared World Press Freedom Day by the United Nations General Assembly due to the power of journalism and its potential role in building society. The International Press Freedom Day is designated to raise awareness of the importance of media freedom and to respect and protect media rights, and to remind governments of their duty to uphold freedom of expression under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.
Each year, the World Press Freedom Index is published by Reporters Without Borders. Since 2002, the organization has been reporting on media freedom in the previous year, based on its own assessment of reports. It is intended to reflect the level of freedom that journalists, news organizations and networks have in each country and the efforts of the authorities to respect this freedom.
World Press Freedom Day is marked by the presentation of the UNESCO / Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. Created in 1997, the award is based on the recommendations of an independent jury of 14 journalists. Nominations are made by regional and international NGOs working for media freedom and UNESCO member countries. The prize is named in honor of Guillermo Cano Issa, a Colombian journalist who was assassinated on December 17, 1986 in front of his office in El Expectador. Canoe’s writings have angered Colombian powerful drug traffickers. As a result, he was executed. This is because they do not have the intelligence to realize that even if all journalists are killed, the same journalists will inevitably appear in society again and again. Journalists also speak out on behalf of criminals when injustice is done to them.
Every year, UNESCO marks World Press Freedom Day, bringing together media professionals, media freedom organizations and United Nations agencies to assess the status of media freedom around the world and to address its challenges. Each conference focuses on the themes of media freedom, including good governance, media coverage on terrorism, impunity, and the role of the media in post-conflict countries.
From 2 to 5 May 2022, UNESCO and the Republic of Uruguay have already launched the annual World Press Freedom Day Global Summit as a hybrid version of the Punta del Este in Uruguay. Under the theme “Journalism under the Digital Siege”, the discussion will focus on the freedom of expression, the security of journalists, access to information and the impact of the digital age on privacy.
Below you will find information about the World Press Freedom Day celebrations.