UK National Commission for UNESCO :: World Press Freedom Day debate

World Press Freedom Day debate – Governments are winning the war

Guardian 'Comment is Free' series on Press Freedom
Statement by David Miliband

The 2009 World Press Freedom Day London debate was held on Friday, 1st May at the Frontline Club. In a vote of more than two to one, participants at this year’s debate voted in favour of the motion “Governments at war are winning the battle of controlling the international media”. The debate was broadcast live online.

The event opened with the presentation of the John Ivinson Memorial Prize for Freedom of Experssion to Annabel Symington, as the winner of this year’s World Press Freedom Day Student Journalism Competition. Each year the competition seeks to recognize exceptional journalism while encouraging students in the UK to consider and define the main global challenges currently facing freedom of the press.

Evening Standard columnist Andrew Gilligan and NATO spokesperson Jamie Shea teamed up to argue that in times of conflict and turbulence, governments are winning the battle of controlling the international media. Gilligan opened the debate, saying that recent history has shown that during combat operations, real time reporting clearly favours governments. Shea stressed that governments are quick learners, ensuring that when they try to influence media coverage of military interventions, past mistakes are not repeated.

Gilligan and Shea were challenged by Alan Fisher of Al Jazeera English and Jeremy Dear of the NUJ, who claimed that governments have failed to prevail in this ongoing struggle. Fisher stressed that over time, the commitment of outstanding journalists ensures that the truth emerges. “It just takes one to break the damn, to uncover the truth. We might not have the full story at the start, but it will get out,” said Fisher.

Sharif Nashashibi, Director of Arab Media Watch, pointed to new technologies, such as camera phones, as the most important weapon in this war, allowing people to circumvent governments, bringing revealing images and information to light. Norbert Mbu-Mputu brought his powerful experiences in the Democratic Republic of Congo to argue how many governments are winning this battle, often by force and intimidation.

Speakers included Jamie Shea, NATO; Andrew Gilligan, Evening Standard columnist; Alan Fisher, Al-Jazeera English; Jeremy Dear, NUJ; Sharif Nashashibi, Arab Media Watch; and Norbert Mbu-Mputu, former UN worker in DRC, writer and journalist. It was moderated by William Horsley, Association of European Journalists.

Guardian 'Comment is Free' Series on Press Freedom

Each World Press Freedom Day the UK National Commission for UNESCO works with the Guardian 'Comment is Free' section to publish a series of though-provoking articles on press freedom issues. Take a look at this year's pieces:

Our rottweiler media – Peter Sain ley Berry
Newspapers need teeth but they should be more careful where they bite

Journalism is the real jihad - Johnny West
Iraq is beginning to develop a community of journalists who are committed to independent reporting

Waging war in silence - Uvindu Kurukulasuriya
The Sri Lankan government won the battle by effectively shutting out access and allowing only selected media to join guided tours

Governments are losing control - Sharif Nashashibi
New media and citizen journalism are the latest weapons against government-imposed restrictions

Information wars in Zimbabwe - Wilf Mbanga
Life can be easy for journalists who toe Mugabe's line. For those who do not, it is difficult and painful

Statement by David Miliband on the occassion of World Press Freedom Day 2009

Commenting on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day in 2009, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said:

"Freedom for the media to report and analyse what is going on in the world is of fundamental importance in holding governments to account. We must all increase our efforts to ensure that these values are protected at a time when the threat to the safety of journalists doing their jobs remains unacceptably high.

During the past year 60 journalists and media workers have been killed. The year also saw the first recorded fatality of a 'citizen journalist.' These tragic deaths, along with over 900 attacks on media workers, 29 kidnappings of journalists and the closure of over 2,000 media outlets, harm our ability to understand the world.

Today I want to re-state Britain's commitment to promote, defend, and protect the right of journalists to do their jobs without fear of reprisal. We continue to support UN Security Council Resolution 1738, which calls for war journalists, media professionals and associated personnel to be respected and protected under the Geneva Conventions as civilians, and the need to bring to justice those who incite such violence."

Data source (Reporters Sans Frontieres 2008 Report)

Source: FCO website

Written: 01/05/2009 , last modified: 01/05/2009