Journalists: Truth-Tellers at Risk of Death - Essay Sample

Introduction

Journalists have a very significant impact on society at large as they can change the ideas of people completely and can influence many people. Over the years, many journalists and photographers have been killed, and in most cases, the motive is clear. Most of the time, they are killed for speaking the truth, giving contradictory information, or holding the information that may ruin the government. According to statistics 2033, journalists and media workers have been killed from the year 1992 to 2020. Out of this, the total number of journalists murdered where there was a clear motive is 1483. This means, therefore, that many journalists who are killed are not accidentally killed, but this is planned murders committed? Compared to the media workers, for example, photographers, journalists have reported more deaths. Out of the total, 2033 people killed 1919 are journalists, while 114 are other media workers.

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Journalists may be attacked, arrested, or killed due to the type of coverage. There may arise a conflict of interest between the journalists and the parties involved in some of the topics that are highly sensitive, and therefore any negative information may cause problems. Some of these matters that are critical include business, corruption, crime, culture, human rights, politics, and war. Out of the 1483 cases where the motive was clear, the journalists covering politics were 657, which is almost half the number as288 were killed due to covering corruption and 577 due to war. From this, it can be seen that matters that may affect the government is riskier, and there are higher chances of journalists being killed as compared to nonpolitical issues, such as sports where only 39 were killed.

Media workers and journalists are attacked, arrested, and killed for speaking the truth and for creating a fuss that some people are not comfortable with (Brambila, 2017). Jamal Khashoggi, for instance, a journalist who was a critic of the government of Saudi Arabia, was killed in October 2018. A United Nations Special Rapporteur reported that from all the evidence gathered; it was clear that Mohammed bin Salman who is the Saudi crown prince, was personally liable together with other top-level officials. He was a friend of the government up until when he fell out and started criticizing the policies implemented by the prince. According to statistics, the total number of people killed by government officials and other groups related to the government is 984. This represents almost half of the total number of journalists murdered, meaning that the government commits the highest murders.

Every human being, including journalists and media workers, have the right to freedom of speech, which means that they are allowed to express their opinions and views without any legal penalty. This, however, is not the case for most journalists in many countries as they fear speaking out on some matters that are critical as they may be attacked, jailed, or even killed. In countries like Afghanistan, Syria, and India, for instance, reported the highest number of journalists that were killed in 2018 by their countries. This shows that the right to freedom of speech in these countries, and many more is violated. Most of these times, the journalists do not just speak without evidence, and therefore by expressing themselves, they do not defame anyone, which makes it unjust for them to be denied the freedom of speech.

Since everyone has an alienable right to freedom of speech, people should be allowed to practice it as long as it is within limits outlined. Therefore journalist's killings should stop, and those found guilty should be punished since no one is against the law. This will ensure that the government and other parties are well monitored by the journalists and other media workers on behalf of the society acting as a watchdog. The journalists will be free, for instance, to prevent the abuse of power and warn the citizens of any harm without fearing for their lives.

References

Brambila, J. A. (2017). Forced Silence: Determinants of Journalist Killings in Mexico's States, 2010-2015. Journal of Information Policy, 7, 297-326.