BY STEVEN KASZAB
In 2021, our world suffered the deaths of 55 journalists. These men and women were murdered while they carried out their profoundly important profession, seeking the truth wherever it may be found, and at a cost to their families and their lives.
During the last week of February 2022 two journalists were murdered in Mexico, with several of their compatriots murdered in 2022. The seeking of the truth has been a dangerous thing to do historically, and the enemies of truth, honesty and justice seem to be prevailing in their efforts to distort, manipulate or hide the reality of our world. At least fourteen journalists have died since the Russian-Ukrainian War began.
We all know that a healthy, professional news media is essential for the proper functioning of civil society and democracy at the local, regional, federal and international levels. In fact UNESCO has declared World Press Freedom Day as an annual observance on May 3rd. The media usually is challenged by many factors, one of which is that they are a business that needs to make a profit.
Communities across Canada have lost more than 250 established news outlets due to closings or mergers between 2008 and 2022. The pressure of survival within this medium continues to grow, eliminating many historically important local newspapers, or replacing them as satellite divisions of greater corporations that dictate their message.
Many nations’ media outlets are state controlled and operated as propaganda tools, issuing state approved information to their populations. The truth or reality of these nations are often manipulated or hidden. The needs of the state often supersede those of their population.
Many nations recognize the need to protect our free media. Canada’s federal government acknowledged in its 2019 budget that “A strong and independent news media is crucial to a well-functioning democracy,” and many governments both local and state attempt to protect these precious institutions. In Canada, at least 29 municipalities – home to roughly 13 million people in nine provinces across Canada – have passed motions voicing support for journalism in aid of democracy.
In 2022 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported that 65 journalists were killed: 50 professional journalists, seven citizen reporters and eight media workers while doing their jobs. They were hunted down by: corrupt politicians, the drug cartels, military death squads and criminals. 1,035 professional journalists have been killed in the past 15 years.
Journalism is not what Rebecca West claimed it to be “That journalism is the ability to meet the challenge of filling space,” but rather “When students/citizens learn to make sense of their world, they become the people who will transform it” (John Spencer).
Journalists are agents of social and political change, social mavericks, or the very roots of democracy.
