What does freedom of the press mean To what extent does it exist in modern Britain - Assignment Example

On the corresponding side, we find that many countries have the ‘freedom of information laws’ or the ‘sunshine laws’ that while defining the scope and extent of the so called ‘national security /interest,’ also allows a citizen to take legal recourses, where he can appeal to get access to government protected information at a minimal charge. UK has implemented this freedom of Information Act 2000 s. 36 (The National Archives, Freedom of Information Act 2000), which gives freedom to its people to access certain parts of the protected information.

In this article, I will examine the concept of freedom of press, and will study to find its relevance in modern day UK. Discussion The ‘right to express’ falls under the category of basic human rights and civil liberties, where the state is under obligation to provide for these fundamental rights to its citizens, under the International Convention of human rights, and also the European Convention of human rights. . Freedom of press is generally covered under the provisions freedom of speech or the right to express, where publications by the press receive the same legal protections as are given to any the other forms of publication, and oral speeches.

Freedom of press is seen to be the core feature of democracy, while “censorship and other restrictions on the press are the hallmark of totalitarian and suppressive regimes” (Baldock, Manning and Vickerstaff, 2007, 100). However it is not always necessary that a government be openly suppressive or manipulative, in its control over the press. There are often more subtle and insidious means (as seen in UK) over controlling the press and blocking or limiting the available information, thus making reporting difficult on certain incidents (ibid).

In this context we will now examine as to how the press operates in UK, and will explore to see whether it is really as Baldock, Manning and Vickerstaff claim that the UK government cuts down on the freedom of the press in a very subtle manner. The Human Rights Act (HRA) that was passed on 9th November 1998 by the UK government (made effective from 2nd October 2000), was aimed at giving more force to the rights, framed within the European Convention on Human Rights. The HRA, which provides for individual rights in UK, also gives the press freedom to express.

Thus, from the government’s point of view, we find that there are indeed provisions made for the freedom of press in UK. However in the last few years it has been seen that the freedom of press has turned into a nightmare of sorts, for many of the celebrities and well known personalities in UK. This has led to speculations, both within the general public and the government, as to