To what extent can citizens, organizations, and the mass media express opinions freely?

Here you can use the press freedom in the world rating by Freedom House In any case, please make some points in the structure of the mass media, especially concerning its plurality. No freedom of opinions or of the press. 1 1+ The core element of a public sphere and of public debate exist but are vulnerable to massive intervention for distortion and manipulation. Partial intervention in freedom of opinion and of the press, which are contrary to democratic principles, but outright prohibitions on the press are limited to a few isolated cases Unrestricted freedom opinion and of the press framed by the basic democratic order 22 2+ 33 3+ 44 1 2

Brent, read the articles. Baka sabihin mo ang joke nung scores ko. Pero muka ngang joke hahaha, kasi ang gulo nung pagdating sa freedom of the press, kasi may mga incidents na dati, tapos nabago ngayon. Hindi ko alam kung alin yung ico-consider ko. Read the articles below na lang. Napapaneutral ako kasi parehong may point yung both sides. Actually, hindi ko maintindihan, na-coconfuse ako :| Yung pang-apat, di ako sure sa score ko na 4 ha.

The law provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to secure freedom of speech and of the press, including academic freedom. Viewpoints critical of the Government were well represented. Press organizations and human rights groups continued to criticize 1981 legislation that allows courts to order a journalist to disclose a source if it is deemed to be in the interests of justice and 1984 legislation that compels journalists to give evidence in cases where police can prove it is necessary to their investigation. Journalists and open media advocates cited the Official Secrets Act as unduly restrictive by prohibiting the legal defense that the information provided by a source is already in the public domain or that its publication is in the public interest. The print media was dominated by more than a dozen national daily and Sunday newspapers, all privately owned and independent (although often generally aligned with a political party). Approximately one-half of the electronic media was run by the BBC, which was funded by the Government but enjoyed editorial independence. Corporations under renewable government licenses operated the remainder. Source: http://www.ncbuy.com/reference/country/humanrights.html?code=uk&sec=2a

Title Publisher Country

Freedom of the Press 2010 - United Kingdom Freedom House United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Publication 5 October 2010 Date Cite as Freedom House, Freedom of the Press 2010 - United Kingdom, 5 October 2010, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4cab0619c.html [accessed 31 October 2010] Freedom of the Press 2010 - United Kingdom

Status: Free Legal Environment: 6 Political Environment: 8 Economic Environment: 5 Total Score: 19 With a history of aggressive reporting and an editorially independent public broadcaster, the United Kingdom maintained its open media environment in 2009. The law provides for freedom of the press, and the government generally respects this right in practice. Antiquated laws criminalizing blasphemy and blasphemous libel were abolished in 2008. However, several laws that weaken press freedom remain in place. Under legislation from the 1980s, journalists deemed to have information that is vital to a police investigation can be forced to give evidence at trial. However, in a landmark ruling in June 2009, a court in Belfast, Northern Ireland, dismissed a police application to force journalist Suzanne Breen to hand over material she had received from a member of a paramilitary group, the Real IRA. The group had taken credit for the murder of two British soldiers in March. The International Federation of Journalists hailed the court's decision as "a historic victory in the journalists' fight for the protection of sources." In the aftermath of July 2005 terrorist bombings on London's mass transit system, the government passed the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Certain provisions of the law, which took effect in 2006, criminalize speech that is considered to encourage terrorism, even in the absence of a direct, proven link to a terrorist act. A religious hatred law enacted in 2006 criminalized incitement of religious hatred or violence, but no journalists were charged under this law during 2009. English libel laws heavily favor the plaintiff, placing the burden of proof on the defendant. As a result, the country has become an increasingly popular destination for "libel tourism," in which foreign plaintiffs bring libel actions against foreign defendants in English courts. A campaign led by the free-speech organizations Sense About Science, English PEN, and Index on Censorship launched a libel reform petition in Parliament in December, and Justice Secretary Jack Straw said he was preparing reform proposals for consideration by lawmakers in 2010. Meanwhile, libel cases proceeded in the courts in 2009. In May, a court ruled that science writer Simon Singh had libeled the British Chiropractic Association in his published criticism of the usefulness of chiropractic treatment. Singh's appeal of the decision was pending at the end of the year. Physical attacks on the media are rare, and none were reported in 2009. However, journalists covering sensitive political issues regularly face intimidation in Northern Ireland. Continuing investigations into the 2001 murder of journalist Martin O'Hagan made some progress in 2008 with the arrest of four suspects, but the trial suffered delays during 2009 and was ongoing at year's end. It is believed that O'Hagan was killed for his investigations into cooperation among Northern Ireland police, military intelligence, illegal armed groups, and drug gangs. The United Kingdom has a strong tradition of public broadcasting, and the British Broadcasting Corporation, although funded by the government, is editorially independent. Ownership of private media outlets is concentrated in the hands of a few large companies, including Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, and many of the private national newspapers remain aligned with political parties. Few commercial radio news stations exist, and the handful in operation are reportedly struggling financially. There are several independent television news channels, including ITV and British Sky Broadcasting. More than 83 percent of the population accessed the internet without restriction in 2009. Authorities may monitor e-mail and other internet communications without judicial permission in the name of national security and "well-being." However, surveillance must be approved by the home secretary, and there are departments in place to handle public complaints of abuse. To bring the country into compliance with European Union policy, a law that came into force in 2009 requires internet-service providers to retain usage records for one year. Source:

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4cab0619c.html

World Press Freedom Day in the United Kingdom

23-04-2007 (London)

Writing competition poster UK National Commission for UNESCO

To celebrate this years World Press Freedom Day on 3 May in the United Kingdom, a great variety of activities are presently under preparation. These activities, organized by the UK National Commission for UNESCO, include an article-writing competition for UK university students organized in partnership with "The Independent" and a debate at Portcullis House organized together with the Press Freedom Network and with support from the Open Society Foundation. The aim of the writing competition is to encourage students in the UK to consider and define the main global challenges currently facing freedom of expression. Students are asked to write a 1,000-word article on the subject "The Greatest Threat to World Media Freedom is" The winner will receive a cash prize of 1,000 and the article will be published in The Independent. The Debate will focus attention and publicise in the UK and in the UK media the global threats to media freedom. The thread of the debate is: "World Media Freedom is in Retreat". The support of the Open Society Foundation enabled two Russian journalists to be present. The debate will be chaired by William Horsley, Chair of the Association of European Journalists (UK). The Guardian (in its online version, Comment is Free section) will be running a week-long discussion on the topic of Freedom of Expression. The UK National Commission has been organising contributions from members and/or other partners of articles to the discussion. The UK National Commission is also discussing with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is hoped that a statement for World Press Freedom Day could be issued by the UK Government on an international press freedom related topic.

Source:

http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=24409&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html