Threats To The Press And The Importance Of World Press Freedom Day

This edition of Update-1 takes note of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, an observance created by the United Nations to remind member governments that freedom of expression is promised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Kathy Kiely, who holds the press freedom fellowship of the Journalism Insitute at the National Press Club and is a 40-year veteran reporter and editor, discusses the threats to Press Freedom with broadcast journalist Irv Chapman. She notes that, while dictatorships have long throttled the press, Western democracies are increasingly placing obstacles in the path of journalists who report on issues considered off-limits, such as corruption and terrorism. Kiely says that as a political editor last year, she had to warn her reporters of threats of violence from partisan crowds at election rallies, egged on by the winning candidate.