press freedom it is the freedom of a citizen to have access to information, in addition to being able to propagate it through a means of communication without suffering reprisals for doing so. The State cannot limit this right of its citizens, and must guarantee respect for it.
Freedom is fundamental for the maintenance of a democracy and a tool that enables the fight against corruption, contributing to the construction of a free and fair society. Brazil still has many challenges to overcome in terms of freedom of the press, such as, for example, the intimidation that journalists suffer for carrying out their work.
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Topics of this article
- 1 - Summary on freedom of the press
- 2 - What is freedom of the press?
- 3 - Importance of freedom of the press
- 4 - Freedom of the press in Brazil
Summary on freedom of the press
Freedom of the press is the right that guarantees citizens freedom of access to information and its dissemination through any means of communication.
Freedom of the press is directly linked to the right of expression.
It is a fundamental tool to build a fairer and less corrupt society.
Brazil still has major problems in terms of freedom of the press.
The Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of the press in Brazil.
What is freedom of the press?
freedom of the press is one of the most basic rights of all democracy Modern. This right, which is often confused with freedom of information, is related to freedom of information conveyed by the media (newspapers in their printed, digital or audio-visual). Therefore, this is the freedom that is made available so that the media in general can have access to information, making it available to the general population.
freedom of the press occurs when the State does not interfere to prevent the journaliststo do your job nor does it limit access to information. In addition, sometimes the State itself needs to act to ensure that the media can carry out their work freely when there are groups that try to silence journalistic work.
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Importance of freedom of the press
Freedom of the press is important for the functioning of a democracy, as it guarantees that the population has access to fundamental information, in addition to guaranteeing that the press can act freely to denounce inappropriate conduct by governments or by individuals in civil society in general.
The guarantee of freedom of the press allows the media to investigate and report cases of corruption practiced by a ruler, for example, without putting his own life at risk. The transparency in society provided by the freedom of the press guarantees the maintenance of democratic regimes, avoiding corruption in several ways.
Therefore, freedom of the press is essential for maintaining a free society, ensuring that citizens can fully enjoy their rights. When there is no freedom of the press or established rights are not respected by the State or by members of society, it is censorship.
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Freedom of the press in Brazil
Freedom of the press in Brazil is one of theright guaranteed by federal Constitution, enacted in 1988. The Constitution speaks in its article 5, in some of its items, that the Brazilian citizen is assured the freedom of manifestation of thought and communication, in addition to guaranteeing journalists the right to maintain the secrecy of their sources.
Furthermore, the Brazilian Constitution reinforces the right to freedom of the press through articles 220, 221, 222 and 223. In article 220, for example, it is mentioned that no law can constitute an obstacle to freedom of journalistic information. Furthermore, this article mentions that censorship (limiting freedom of speech and press) is prohibited anyway.
Freedom of the press is a right also guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which, in its 19th article, says that every individual has the right to freedom of opinion, being able to transmit their information and ideas by any means of expression.
However, despite being a right consolidated and guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights rights and the Federal Constitution, Brazil still has a long way to go in terms of freedom of press.
This is because the Non-Governmental Organization Reporters Without Borders carries out an annual monitoring of press freedom across the planet, and the situation in Brazil is only considered reasonable. In 2023, Brazil ranked 92nd out of 180 countries in terms of guaranteeing press freedom.
This result, however, was considered an improvement, since Brazil ranked 110th in 2022. The NGO listed some problems for freedom of the press in Brazil:
constant attacks against journalists by far-right sympathizers;
abuses against journalists in court cases carried out by politicians and businessmen;
difficulties of the means of communication to support themselves economically;
free diffusion of fake news from the media;
high number of murders of journalists in the last decade;
online harassment and violence against journalists.
Sources
Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Brasília: Federal Senate, 2016.
LEYSER, Maria Fatima Vaquero Ramalho. Right to freedom of the press. Available in: http://www.mpsp.mp.br/portal/page/portal/documentacao_e_divulgacao/doc_publicacao_divulgacao/doc_gra_doutrina_civel/civel%2032.pdf.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Available in: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/por.pdf.
Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories. Freedom of the Press vs Freedom of Expression. Available in: https://www.tjdft.jus.br/institucional/imprensa/campanhas-e-produtos/direito-facil/edicao-semanal/liberdade-de-imprensa-x-liberdade-de-expressao.
Martinelli, Gustavo. The limits and duties of freedom of the press. Available in: https://www.aurum.com.br/blog/liberdade-de-imprensa/.
Alves, Isabella. How important is freedom of the press to democracy? Available in: https://www.politize.com.br/importancia-da-liberdade-de-imprensa-para-a-democracia/.
Mello, Celso. The fundamental importance of freedom of the press. Available in: https://direito.usp.br/noticia/e1b52f3319a8-a-importancia-fundamental-da-liberdade-de-imprensa.
Reporters Without Borders. Brazil. Available in: https://rsf.org/pt-br/pais/brasil.
Reporters Without Borders.World Press Freedom Ranking 2023: The dangers of the fake content industry. Available in: https://rsf.org/pt-br/ranking-mundial-de-liberdade-de-imprensa-2023-os-perigos-da-ind%C3%Bastria-de-conte%C3%Bados-falsos? data_type=general&year=2023.
By Daniel Neves Silva
History teacher
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SILVA, Daniel Neves. "Freedom of the press"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/politica/liberdade-de-imprensa.htm. Accessed May 17, 2023.
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