On March 20, 2024, Haitian journalist Lucien Jura was kidnapped from his home in Pétion-Ville. The kidnapping occurred during a week that can only be described as anarchy: gangs in Haiti sought to consolidate power and did so by terrorizing the police and killing numerous civilians. Jura is regarded as one of Haiti’s most prominent independent journalists, and his kidnapping can only be a testament to the uprising of violence against reporters.
The power of the media is being recognized in the worst possible manner, and it has now become more important than ever to protect and preserve the free press. The power of journalism is profound and acts as a way to preserve democratic ideals as it holds people of power in check.
One such instance is the Watergate Scandal of 1972, where investigative reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein played pivotal roles in exposing government corruption. Woodward and Bernstein were able to uncover illegal activities within former President Nixon’s administration: bribery, wiretapping of political opponents and unauthorized investigations. This ultimately caused 69 indictments and 48 convictions of highly-ranked corrupt officials, demonstrating just how influential journalism truly is within the government.
The fact that Watergate may have happened five decades ago does not discredit its relevance. In modern day, technology has developed extensively and thus journalism has as well. The uprise of podcasts and livestreams allow the audience a more transparent lens into media.
Modern data journalism endeavors to ensure credibility in journalistic work amidst the proliferation of misinformation. Today, journalists possess the ability to interact in diverse fields and reach their profound levels of audiences. This ability demonstrates the power and impact journalism has and will continue to have as technology continues progressing rapidly.
Journalism’s influence, however, has prompted a severe attack on journalism. Currently, numerous journalists around the world are facing increasingly horrible conditions. According to a 2024 report by the U.S Agency for International Development, since the 1990s, the highest number of journalists imprisoned worldwide was in 2022, with 2023 coming in second.
Modern journalists are being recognized for the impact they can have, but this in turn, has placed them in a dangerous predicament. Governments around the world wish to silence any critiques of their regimes while laws that protect journalists are often ineffective. Attempts to uncover the truth are being blockaded while journalists face censorship, legal harassment, violence and online attacks, further restricting them.
The current attack on journalism goes beyond the imprisonment of journalists. Rather, it is an attack on the fundamentals that make up democracy. Universal suffrage, a pluralistic political system, respect for human rights and the division of power – these are the fundamentals, and these are only preserved by the power of the public whose power stems from its knowledge of internal affairs.
No fair election can be made when the public is presented with tampered information about the candidates. No pluralistic system can be maintained if the public does not know of more than one system. No human rights can be preserved when the public does not know what is being threatened and why. No power can be balanced when the public does not know the truth because ignorance breeds tyranny. No democracy can be preserved when the public does not know.
Having a free press is what empowers citizens. Journalists give people a source to trust, a place to be represented – diverse and accurate information that allows them to navigate a political world that strives to manipulate them. People need journalism, and journalism needs help.
Every day the threat to freedom tightens its grasp on the modern world. Every day journalists are further backed into a corner as they struggle to remain outspoken. Now is the time for people to care more, do more and show more appreciation to those who protect their right to democracy.
Currently, numerous platforms exist advocating for journalists’ rights. The Committee to Protect Journalists is one of these, with a petition calling for the White House to respect journalists’ rights to gather and report news. This petition is just one of many steps necessary to preserve media freedom, and it is important that people take these steps to ensure a free society.
Today, change is possible. Today, many journalists remain free and endure as representatives of the public’s right to know. Tomorrow, however, is unknown, and the only way to know is to be there, every step of the way.