On World Press Freedom Day, (May 3) some years ago the Minister of Information and official spin doctor of a certain African country declared “we have plenty of room in our prisons for terrorists of the pen”.
Double-click on any word in the text to get its definition from Cambridge Dictionaries Online. The definition will open in a new window.
Read the article and then do a comprehension activity. Finally, do some writing yourself.
Unfortunately for him, Press Censorship is not as easy as it used to be. With modern technology - Internet, Satellite TV, mobile phones, SMS messages, plus good old fashioned radio, it is far more difficult to suppress information than before. Not that governments don’t continue to try. In Africa this year newspapers have had their printing presses blown up, their editors arrested, journalists tortured, vendors beaten up, computers confiscated, and premises occupied by the police before finally being officially banned. Yet even now they are available on-line and people with computers often print out and photocopy articles to pass on to friends without.
Radio is particularly difficult to censor. Violet Ndhlovu used to host a phone in programme in her own country but lost her job for allowing people to express their opinions live on air. She then found funding and applied for a licence to set up a private radio station. This was actually granted and New Free Radio was born. It only lasted a week however before it too was occupied by the police and all its equipment seized. Undaunted Violet and her friends moved to London and started broadcasting from there. Hungry for information, and sick of the drivel on state radio and television, people back in her country gather round their radios every evening. Recently their government has spent huge sums of money buying equipment from China to jam these broadcasts, but in London they just keep changing frequencies and, as soon as the listeners hear that ominous hum that means their favourite station is being jammed, they quickly retune. New Free Radio now proudly refer to themselves as “the only station in the country worth jamming!”
But even before all this new technology people have always found ways to beat the censors. Under Apartheid in South Africa magazines, newspapers, newsletters, all sorts of publications, were regularly banned and quickly reappeared under other names. And a new sort of literacy was born. A photo of a white South African model relaxing by the pool and one of a naked child in a squatter camp on the same page was no accident. One day there was a picture, taken from behind, of a stark naked, extremely healthy rugby team on the beach, and the caption “Beach Bums”. Next to it was a photo of some real beach bums, three down and out coloured youths on a “whites only” beach, being told to move on by a policeman but obviously too exhausted to go anywhere. The two pictures together made a powerful political statement.
Often, innocuous headlines took on completely different meanings in the light of current events. Cartoons also became more and more subtle. Working out the caption became, like deciphering a code, a fascinating game. Reading not only between the lines but between the paragraphs, the pages and the pictures, took on a totally new meaning, became an essential tool in the struggle to remain informed. Even cryptic clues in crossword puzzles became clever and amusing ways to disseminate information and at the same time make fun of the censors, who were always notoriously stupid.
Interestingly, in South Africa, theatre and “literature” were generally left alone. Although many of Nadine Gordimer’s novels were banned not that much effort was put into preventing copies being smuggled in. In the theatre many openly critical plays were produced by people like Athol Fugard and Barney Simon, who seemed to get away with murder. The government was right in thinking that this more intellectual stuff was “preaching to the converted”, so didn’t bother too much about it. Yet South African literature and theatre became a very powerful force outside the country, making the rest of the world aware of what was going on and initiating the economic, cultural and sports boycotts that did so much to force the government eventually to accept reality.
Censorship of course goes against the basic human right to speak out. Yet what exactly Freedom of Speech means is a contentious issue. How far can one go? Is it the freedom to say absolutely anything? Would your government be right in censuring an article exhorting people to violence for example? In Spain a book that explained how to beat your wife, without leaving on her any physical marks that could be used as evidence against you, was recently banned, as was a “Suicide Manual” in Britain. In an Islamic country does the government have the right to censor an article criticising the Koran? Does an atheist have the right to say he /she thinks God does not exist? Is Blasphemy a crime as well as a sin?
Whatever, it goes without saying that the responsibility of the media is terribly important. There are those who maintain that the Iraq War would not have taken place at all if the entire media had simply refused to cover it. If the whole thing was just a huge publicity stunt for the Americans, as many believe, what would have been the point? On the other hand far worse atrocities might have taken place without anyone ever knowing or being held accountable.
How far can the media go? And how responsible are the public? Why is our appetite for news so insatiable? Should we not learn to recognise “Infotainment” and reject it?
What about the right to privacy? Shouldn’t all those journalists who hounded Princess Diana simply have been banned?
Thorny questions.
If you have a comfortable existence and are not threatened in any way possibly you don’t realise how precious these things are. But if you belong to any suppressed minority anywhere in the world , or if you are just a genuinely freedom loving person you will know what a lifeline a free press is, how without it you will never be able to be yourself. Reporters without Borders is an organization which fights for press freedom and ensures protection of journalists by denouncing violations of human rights all over the world. Have a look at their web site (see below).
What do you think about this article? Send us your opinions on this subject.
Reporters without Borders
Press Freedom Survey
Censorship and Free Speech Guide
The British Council is not responsible for the content of external websites.
| 
