Author: Sherry Helms

Today is May 3 that become a significant day in the history of World Press ever since the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed this day to be World Press Freedom Day.  The intent of celebrating this day is to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In an attempt to support the cause of this day, we have brought forth a list of Books on Press Freedom that are randomly picked from the ocean of books available at our Online Bookstore. Pressmen and students of journalism may pick these books to understand the radicality of Press Freedom and its past & present status under the contemporary governments across the world.

Here is the list:

Into the Buzzsaw: Leading Journalists Expose the Myth of a Free Press – This is a collection of essays by award winning journalists that examines and demonstrates how suppression, manipulation, and distortion of information in news have reached a crisis level- to the point of posing a significant threat to a free American society. In this uneven yet illuminating anthology, editor Kristina Borjesson succinctly explains the journalist’s predicament: “The buzzsaw is what can rip through you when you try to investigate or expose anything this country’s large institutions be they corporate or government want kept under wraps.”

When the Press Fails: Political Power and the News Media from Iraq to Katrina (Studies in Communication, Media, and Public Opinion) – A sobering look at the intimate relationship between political power and the news media, this incredible book argues the dependence of reporters on official sources disastrously thwarts coverage of dissenting voices from outside the Beltway. The result is both an indictment of official spin and an urgent call to action that questions why the mainstream press failed to challenge the Bush administration’s arguments for an invasion of Iraq or to illuminate administration policies underlying the Abu Ghraib controversy.

Reporting the War: Freedom of the Press from the American Revolution to the War on Terrorism – Threats to freedom of the press and the need for democratic dialogue are always greatest in wartime. John Byrne Cooke, son of the veteran journalist Alistair Cooke, delivers a must-read exploration of freedom of the press in wartime throughout American history. This book sheds light on how the press has affected the course of some, but not all, American wars, how the government has tried to suppress opposing opinion, how the press has struggled, and continues to struggle to preserve the principles of the Founding Fathers.

The Idea of a Free Press: The Enlightenment and Its Unruly Legacy – This is one of the most comprehensive books on the Freedom of Press, illuminating the basic idea of a Free Press. Author, David A. Copeland makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the evolution of press freedom and makes clear why it is one of the most cherished as well as threatened freedoms of human history.

War and Press Freedom: The Problem of Prerogative Power – In the two centuries from the ratification of the First Amendment in 1791 through the Gulf War in 1991, the American press lacked an adequate right to analyze and report on the nation’s armed conflicts. This groundbreaking and moving study, analyzing law and history over these two hundred years, argues that the press freedom cannot and should not be suspended during armed conflict. The military and the media must work together because neither has authority over the other.

Grab these books today and if you have  some more titles to add  in this list, you are most welcome, please share and comment the same to us.    

Tags: 0195099451, 0226042855, 0810123290, 1403975159, 1591022304, Books on Press Freedom, Press Freedom, World Press Freedom Day

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 at 12:33 pm and is filed under Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.