In most of the 14 countries surveyed, press freedom (including broadcasting) was considered more important than social stability.

What are your feelings about press freedom?

Write down your opinion HERE!

2. Read the following, get ready to answer the questions and discuss them with the class.

The Media & private life of people

· How free are the media? It varies from country to country. In some cases (e.g. Sweden and America) there are very few limits on what journalists can report. Other governments are slightly less liberal. In Britain, for example, there is an ‘Official Secrets Act’. This means that it’s against the law to report certain sensitive information about defence or intelligence matters. And then there is a third group of countries which control their media very strictly. In cases like this, journalists who break the law are frequently sent to prison or sometimes even killed.

· Which group do you refer this country to? How is the press controlled in this country? What is your attitude to such-like situation?

· The public’s right to know is one of the central principles of a democratic society. “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance”, asserted James Madison, the fourth president of America and an early proponent of press freedom. And people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives” Lack of freedom is a serious journalistic issue, but it’s not the only one in the censorship debate. On the other side of the coin, some people believe journalists have too much freedom. The argument here is that newspapers often invade people’s private lives and print sensational storieswhich are untrue.

· Should this be allowed to happen? · How do reporters justify their intrusions into people’s private lives, particularly when they cover tragic or shocking stories? Are their reasons valid? Why or why nor? · In what way would you react on the fact of the intrusion into your private life? · Is their a balance between the public’s right to know and the individual’s right to privacy? · If so, how do you think this should be achieved? By legislation or by voluntary code as at present?

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16