Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/11/12

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Subject: RE: [Leica] Freedom of the press? WAS (something else)
From: "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 13:12:44 -0500

I would argue that the U.S. does have the most 'free' press in the sense
that there is NO government imposed prior censorship. That is - if you
can find it, you can print it. Period. That doesn't mean that the press
has a 'right' to any information it wants - it just means that the
government cannot stop it from printing the information it finds.
Compare that to France, which rates better in this survey than the U.S.,
where, for instance, photographers can be prosecuted for photographing
people in public places. Some of you may call that 'freedom of the
press' - but I sure don't.

Do the economic realities of corporate ownership, etc., effect what's
covered by some media in the U.S.? Absolutely. Does the U.S. media often
fall down on the job and kowtow to power? Yup. But that doesn't have a
damn thing to do with 'freedom of the press -' it has to do with
incompetence of and by the press. And that's an entirely different
discussion.



- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us] On Behalf Of Jacques
Bilinski & Barbara Bradbury
Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2003 12:32 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] Freedom of the press? WAS (something else)



- -- Original Message ----- > Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway,
Denmark, Trinidad and Tobago,
> Belgium Germany, Sweden, Canada, Latvia, Czech Republic, Estonia, 
> Slavakia, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Lithuania, New Zealand, 
> Slovenia, Hungary, Jamaica, South Africa, Costa Rica, Uruguay, France,

> United Kingdom, Portugal, Benin, Timor-Leste ... and then Greece and 
> the US
>
> Read and weep.
>
In my book being in the top 20% is not bad it's good - but with a lot of
room for improvement. The question here is what would cause someone to
think the the US has the most free press in the world - second to none.

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Replies: Reply from "Jacques Bilinski & Barbara Bradbury" <jbilin@axionet.com> (Re: [Leica] Freedom of the press? WAS (something else))