Reporters Without Borders has released the 2013 index of the "best" and "worst" countries regarding freedom of journalism and media...
Finland has been the top country for three years in a row, which in my opinion reflects on their governmental standards and how they feel their people should be treated by knowing what's really going on around them.
A horrible example, on the other end, would be North Korea. Many of the shows they watch, songs they listen to, news they hear, etc. is strictly propaganda for their country's leader(s) and glorification of their nation. For example, when researching this topic a little further, I found a few of the most popular songs that are listened to in North Korea:
- "Song of General Kim II-sung"
- "Song of General Kim Jong-il"
- "Onwards Toward the Final Victory" (For Kim Jong-un)
Clearly, the people living there live within an incredibly restricted "media-fence." They are so unfamiliar with any type of media that does not pertain to their leader or to their glorified country, that anything besides the propaganda that they are familiar with (like international news for instance) would be completely foreign and unnatural to them.
I truly think that the way some countries are SO depleted from any outside contact or news is detrimental to the well being of the people living there, and I'm sure there are many sources and studies to back up that idea.
When you compare it to other countries, maybe our US news media, although flawed are not so bad.
ReplyDeleteBUT, are our news media getting better or worse?
I see what you are saying, Mr. Underwood. I think that we are seeing more and more censorship every day. While it may not be as extreme as it is in North Korea, there are certainly governing bodies in terms of what information is acceptable to be released.
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