03 May 2007
United States Works To Promote Free Media as Pillar of Democracy
State Department’s Farrar talks about U.S. programs
Washington -- The United States is committed to promoting free media worldwide as one of the pillars of democracy. To mark World Press Freedom Day May 3, U.S. official Jonathan Farrar spoke with participants from around the world during a State Department-sponsored webchat.
Farrar, the principal deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, tapped his extensive experience in Latin America to discuss the U.S. government's active program in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama to train journalists, government officials and civil society activists.
Since the program began nearly two years ago, he said, more than 500 journalists, government officials and nongovernmental organization (NGO) practitioners have been trained on journalism techniques, advocacy, freedom of information laws and the importance of a free and independent press.
U.S. EFFORTS IN LATIN AMERICA
In Honduras, the program enabled the creation of the first civil society coalition to promote national access to information legislation, he said. Legislation was approved in November of 2006, and a recent round table brought more than 142 journalists, civil society leaders and government officials together to discuss it. Three Honduran congressmen participated, discussing how the law can function as a tool to combat corruption.
In Nicaragua, the program trained journalists on media objectivity and supported the monitoring of media coverage of the presidential elections to measure bias.
In Panama, the program helped establish a Media Ethics Committee, one of only three in the region.
In El Salvador, the program continues to promote access to information and to strengthen journalism skills. A recent workshop on “Investigative Journalism in Cases of Corruption” trained more than 20 Salvadoran journalists on use of online resources, identification of sources, advantages associated with access to information laws and skills of investigative journalists.
U.S. SUPPORTS A FREE PRESS WORLDWIDE
Worldwide, Farrar said, the United States provides professional development for journalists through programs like the Edward Murrow Journalism Program, which brings promising journalists to the United States to meet government officials, business leaders and their professional colleagues in the United States.
An important component of this program, Farrar said, is that the visiting foreign journalists go to see all types of media outlets -- from small town papers in America’s heartland to the large operations in New York and Los Angeles.
“My bureau provides over $18 million to support press freedom in 20 countries,” Farrar said. “These programs support initiatives like professional development in writing, editing and distributing news and opinion content, assistance with establishing community radio and training on establishing and maintaining Web sites.“
Farrar said the Internet is an important venue for promoting press freedom, but its use has been under threat in a number of countries. To counter this threat, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice launched the Global Internet Freedom Task Force in 2006 to work with technology companies and NGOs to promote the free flow of information on the Internet.
“Freedom of the press is often called the First Freedom, and for good reasons,” Farrar said. “Freedom of the press protects freedom of thought and expression. A free press is indispensable to a vigorous debate and an informed electorate. A free press can hold government officials to account. “
But he added: “With freedom comes responsibility, of course, and journalists have a responsibility to be fair and accurate. Many of the programs of my bureau of the State Department are designed to help train journalists to meet these standards. When journalists speak the truth and are threatened as a result, our programs try to help ensure that they receive the protection of the rule of law. “
The Handbook of Independent Journalism offers a brief introduction to the fundamentals of journalism as it is practiced in democratic systems.
A Responsible Press Office, written for government leaders and public information officials, offers advice on how to create an effective mechanism of communication between the press and the government.
For more information on U.S. policies, see Freedom of the Press.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
