World Press Freedom Committee Formed
The World Press Freedom Committee represents 37 organizations from around the world on the issue of freedom of the press. In 1987, it published a 10-point Charter for a Free Press (see below).
See also World Press Freedom Day, proclaimed on May 3, 1993.
In the U.S. the first Supreme Court decision affirming freedom of the press under the First Amendment was Near v. Minnesota on June 1, 1931. Learn more about Jay Near’s “offensive” publication here.
Read the opening two paragraphs of the Charter for a Free Press:
A free press means a free people. To this end, the following principles, basic to an unfettered flow of news and information both within and across national borders, deserve the support of all those pledged to advance and protect democratic institutions.
Censorship, direct or indirect, is unacceptable; thus laws and practices restricting the right of the news media freely to gather and distribute information must be abolished, and government authorities, national or local, must not interfere with the content of print or broadcast news, or restrict access to any news source.
Read the entire Charter for a Free Press: http://www.wp fc.org/index.php?q=node/34
Learn more about freedom of the press: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/category/press