What is meant by ‘freedom of press’? Everyone wants freedom but with freedom also comes lot of responsibilities and if we are unable to justify both, then that freedom is taken away from us. So when we talk about freedom of press, we also talk about its work ethics and principles. Considering the great relevance of the topic, we have covered speeches on freedom of press.
Here, you would find both short speeches on freedom of press as well as long speeches on freedom of press which are easy to understand and carry a comprehensive picture about the subject. So browse through the pages and take hands-on knowledge about these pertinent topics.
Warm Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen – Welcome to the speech ceremony of today!
As you all know that we have assembled here today to discuss about the freedom of press in India. But before we begin with the ceremony, let me first extend a note of special thanks to our special guest hon’ble …… for humbly accepting our request. He is the senior correspondent and journalist for past 20 years in the media industry.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Nargis Khan your host for today and would like to deliver a short speech on the said topic. The reason behind conducting this meet is because we are observing a lot of violence against the media persons and their freedom is constantly being suppressed by the people in power. Most of the media personalities have been reduced to play things in the hands of the ruling classes. Since media represents the voice of the people and any gross mishandling of this channel can deprive its people from the right to information, it becomes our responsibility to safeguard their freedom by raising our voice.
Freedom of Media or Freedom of Press is referred to as a principle where communication and expression via different media, including electronic and print media, particularly published materials should easily take place. It is an important right of the media persons which should be exercised freely by them. This sort of freedom doesn’t involve the intervention of an overarching state and the preservation of press freedom can be ensured through legal or constitutional mediums.
As per the governmental regulation, any government is liable to draw a mark of distinction between such materials which can be made public and others which are deliberately protected from public disclosure. The state information is protected because of any of the two reasons, i.e. the sorting of information as secret, sensitive or classified or the significance of information from the standpoint of preserving the national interest. Several governments are also bound to laws or legislation based on freedom of information, which is used to describe the sphere of national interest.
The freedom of media or press comes with the realm of freedom of expression and speech. In a democratic country like ours, the freedom of press becomes extremely essential as it serves as a watchdog on the three important facets of democracy, i.e. the legislature, executive and the judiciary. However, the freedom of press is conditional in nature and not absolute in the sense that it is subjected to some restrictions which are mentioned in the Article 19 (2). Mentioned below are the reason ground (for curtailing freedom of press) which can be found in the Article 19 (2):
We sincerely acknowledge that media plays a key role in ensuring public welfare, but sometimes it does act negligently. The Father of our Nation – Mahatma Gandhi – once said, “The role of journalism should be service. The Press is a great power, but just as an unchained torrent of water submerges the whole countryside and devastates crops, even so an uncontrolled pen serves but to destroy.” The democratic set up has three important pillars, as mentioned above, the legislative, the executive and the judiciary. The press functions as the fourth pillar in a democratic set up. The press plays a key role in meeting justice and ensuring public welfare, etc.
So the freedom of media should not be curbed but rather channelized so that its potential can be fully realized.
Thanks You!
Greetings of the day everyone – I hope this day finds you in the best of spirit!
Today, we are going to discuss a very pertinent topic and which is quite debatable too, i.e. the Freedom of Press in India. We all want freedom, but it comes with a sense of responsibility. And in a country like India, the media has to constantly fight with the regressive mindsets like communalism and casteism and enable the people to combat poverty as well as other social iniquities.
Freedom of press and ethics of journalism are much talked about subjects these days, especially in India – with the word ‘press’ referring to the electronic media as well. The discussion on these subjects should include a wider picture and concern its every possible facet as the media holds a lot of sway over our lives and has emerged as the powerful medium for voicing an opinion.
The significance of the freedom of press is about the fact that for many people the possibility of establishing a personal connection with the newsworthy incidents is simply improbable. Therefore, while looking for news the media has to act on behalf of the public at large. It is a medium through which people receive information and ideas without any hindrance, which proves to be immensely helpful in intelligent self-governance, which is democracy.
For the democracy to function well, it is important that citizens remain informed about the latest happenings from across the world because only then people would be able to hold rational judgments. Of course, you cannot expect from the citizen of a country to gather news on his/her own or to be able to form opinions. This is where the role of the media comes in as it plays a chief role in a democratic set up and acts as an agency by helping people remain updated on important news and happenings. This is the reason why freedom of press is taken to be so important in all democratic nations whereas it is not allowed in totalitarian or feudal set ups.
In our country, the media has played a tremendous role in facilitating people to access information related to social and political happenings while also remaining aware about the evil prevailing in our society. It is through our media that we get to know about the economic status of our country and how much its people are suffering from poverty, such as we get to know about the suicide of our farmers in different states of our country and then there are various cases of honor killing that take place because of illegally formed Khap Panchayats. For doing all this, i.e. providing us with important news while sitting at one place, our media deserves a lot of praise.
However, the media has to shoulder a lot of other responsibilities too, which is serving people with the right news and there should be no gross distortion of the news as well, for if any false news happens to circulate, it may either damage the reputation of the person involved or of the media group spreading such false news.
So media or press is an important pillar in a democratic set up and while giving it its due freedom we should also ensure that this freedom is not unfairly utilized. With this I end my speech.
Thank you every one!
Respected Principal Sir, Respected Professors and Teachers, All Staff Members and My Dear Fellow Students!
First of all, thank you for taking out time and becoming a part of this important forum. Like every year, this year too, we have assembled to discuss about the topic that needs utmost attention. This year’s topic is ‘freedom of press in democracy’.
Freedom means liberty and it can be in any context such as freedom or right to move, speak, act, etc. as per one’s own wishes and will. Media (electronic, print, online) and Press are the most prominent and significant platform for expressing oneself.
Though Press referred to the newspaper industry in earlier time; with the advent of technology there are various other means such as online news, radio, television, blogs and websites, through which people get news.
India is a democratic country and each individual has the right of speech and expression. Any restrictions applying to the freedom of speech or expression would automatically affect the freedom of press as press plays an important role in expressing people’s feelings and emotions.
Freedom of press in democracy is very important as people today are informed and they cannot be restricted from sharing their views and opinions. Press and news media in democratic country such as India enjoy larger freedom; it also acts as a critical check on Authorities, Administrators and the Government. Free press usually brings to notice any socially incorrect and illegal activities.
Freedom of press and media is also important as they stand up against corruption, dictatorship and malpractices. They work all the time to deliver truthful news at a quick pace. They help in keeping the readers informed about everything that is taking place in the nation. Therefore, freedom of press in democracy is the fundamental requirement for achieving the ideologies of democracy.
However, it also becomes the fundamental duty and responsibility of the press and media to act towards increasing and strengthening the integrity and sovereignty of the nation. This would also help the people build a harmonious environment and cultivate unity.
In all the independent and democratic nations, citizen’s pride and dignity are protected through press and media and thus freedom of press in democracy is very important. However, freedom of press is still a debatable issue on the point whether press should be given complete freedom or some restrictions should be levied on press and media.
Some of the students today may like becoming reporters in the near future. They will be bestowed with responsibilities of reporting accurate and unbiased news to the people of the country. They may not enjoy abundant censorship on press; however they should make sure that they do not incite citizens against the Administrators, Government or the Authority. Hence, the freedom of press in democracy would be best ensured by not circulating fake, impartial, instigating news and provoking public against the government.
I rest my speech with the hope that you all will fulfill your responsibilities and duties with honesty and sincerity.
Thank You!
Respected Editor-in-chief, Dear Writers and all Members/Staffs at our Media House!
I, on behalf of the entire media house, welcome you to the annual function of our center and thank you for being a part of the celebration today.
Now-a-days, much is spoken about the freedom and restrictions on press, media and judiciary.
Freedom means right to speak or express without any fear. It is important element in a democratic country as the society is liberal. Press and judiciary play an important role in helping preserve the civil rights. While media and press act as the watchdogs and keep a check on the activities of the authorities, government, public and private figures, etc., judiciary system ensures that law and order is maintained in the country.
However, it is important that the judiciary and press are independent and are not controlled or influenced by the government or any powerful figure. Courts should remain free from any influence to enable it to protect people’s freedom. Press is the most important medium people use to express their opinion in a democratic country. Press advocates for people right to speak and expression. Press and the judiciary are two institutions that complement each other because they preserve democratic values.
Judges have been bestowed with the authority to administer law, order and justice. They play a key role in keeping the people’s faith in judiciary system alive. An influenced or biased judiciary system would discourage people from appealing to the judiciary in cases of disputes, etc., which would create disharmony in the society. The Judges can only accomplish their duty fairly when they have been given proper and complete independence.
In a democratic country, freedom of press freedom is necessary as they keep a check on illegal activities and report the same in a timely manner. The role of press is to inform, blow whistle and help the judiciary system in maintaining the law and order. Therefore, freedom of press is critical so that they can fulfill their democratic responsibilities and ideologies. The preservation of freedom of press is also an element of the Bill of Rights. It ensures that the civil rights of media houses are protected from unnecessary interference of the government, etc.
However, it is also important that the reporters are impartial and discharge their duty with honesty. Public has become aware today and they can differentiate between the authentic and fake news. It becomes the duty, in such circumstances that all reporters report only accurate news. Media or press should not be considered a mean to degrade the image of any politician, government, institution, industry or religiously acclaimed figure. Only then we will do justice to our job.
I would like to say that we started this center with the aim to deliver the most unbiased and transparent news to the public and we will continue doing so and I appeal to all my writers to walk hand-in-hand with me towards my journey.
On this note, I rest my speech.
Thank You!