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Journalism & Media vocabulary · Media Ethics and Law

Press freedom

Meaning in journalism & media, with examples

nounCore term

In journalism & media, press freedom means: The right of journalists and media to collect and publish information and opinions without censorship, threats or control by the state or other powerful groups.

In Turkish: basın özgürlüğü, basın hürriyeti

How it is used

Also said freedom of the press. Used in reports by media rights groups, in law and in debates about censorship. Press freedom is defended, protected, restricted or threatened. World Press Freedom Day is marked on 3 May.

Example sentences

  1. The conference brought together editors from twenty countries to discuss press freedom.

  2. Media lawyers argue that the new rules could restrict press freedom.

Common collocations

  • defend press freedom
  • restrict press freedom
  • freedom of the press
  • press freedom index
  • World Press Freedom Day
  • the pressNewspapers, magazines and news media as a group, and the journalists who work for them; originally the printing press used to produce newspapers.
  • source protectionThe principle, recognised in many ethics codes and laws, that journalists should not reveal the identity of confidential sources.
  • public interestThe benefit of society as a whole, used to judge whether publishing information, especially private or secret information, is justified.
  • defamationThe legal wrong of publishing or saying false statements about someone that damage their reputation.

More terms: Media Ethics and Law

Practise with graded reading

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