The freedom of Press helps separate the free countries from those that are not as lucky. Countries such as Russia, China, and North Korea, all do not have a free press. This means the news and headlines they see are government censored. The people in North Korea probably have it worse than the rest, most are oblivious to mainstream events going on in the rest of the world. In America, the freedom of press is very important. Especially with our two party system, news can be skewed to one side of the political spectrum. We see the left leaning side of things on CNN and MSNBC, and the right leaning side on FOX news. Now the full truth is probably not found on any of these networks, however a well informed citizen can look at multiple sources to confirm or deny facts. It's really interesting to watch how politicians respond to the news. Nowadays all we hear is "FAKE NEWS" coming from the white house, this is in reference to CNN and MSNBC who tend to side against Trump on most issues. However it wasn't very long ago that we say former president Barack Obama speak ill on FOX news, who again tended to disagree with the president. All of this is important to know because without a free press, you would never hear both sides of the story. No government is perfect, and holding them accountable to their mistakes is part of the presses responsibility. Opponents to a Free Press believe that with all the false information out there, a socialized- or government controlled media would be best. This just could not be farther from the truth! There are things that each and every government administration does that it wishes people didn't know about. Without a Free Press, the people wouldn't know about it. A Free Press- able to praise or critique whenever they feel necessary is important because it keeps the public informed in a fair way. The freedom of Press relates to all media, this includes books and videos. When it comes to censorship its important to not look only at the short term, but also the long term. Where censoring youth, such as high school students, may 'shield' them from vulgar, sexual, or violent content in THAT MOMENT; It does not help them in the long term. Censoring someone from certain content only means that when the time comes and they HAVE to be around this content, they wont be prepared or comfortable around it or discussing it. Even things like racial issues are censored in some schools! Isn't it important to teach youth to discuss these topics rather than shield them from it entirely? Numerous reasons such as an educated public, and youth prepared to have the hard conversations are reasons why the Free Press is SO important. If you are not convinced, look to the people of Japan- who aren't aware about the pearl harbor bombing; or the Chinese- whose media is controlled by the government; look to Russia- where reporters have been killed due to criticizing the government.
