Governments and journalists share responsibility for a free press

02/05/2012

Secretary General Jagland warns that non-transparent relationships between media and governments are a risk to pluralistic societies

Thorbjørn Jagland 

Strasbourg, 02.05.2012 – Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland has warned that close and non-transparent relationships between media and governments are a risk to pluralistic societies. In a statement to mark World Press Freedom Day he said:

  

"Freedom of expression is a fundamental right, enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights. A free press is vital for any democracy. Elected politicians have a duty to ensure that journalists can work freely and without fear of state repression. The Council of Europe promotes press freedom by advising governments on media legislation and, where necessary, by helping member states to meet their obligations under the Convention through specific co-operation programmes". (more...)

See also: Special file on World Freedom Day http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode