Is a Free Press a blessing?
As I explained here I'm following Christian Aid's 'Count Your Blessings' Calendar through Lent, which begins today. The first few days have a justice focus. According to the 'Count Your Blessings' message today "only 15% of the world's population live in countries that enjoy a free press" I'm don't know what the research is behind this figure, but it is a sobering one. One could debate endlessly exactly what is meant by a free press. (How free is a press owned and controlled by a very few powerful individuals or conglomerates?) But I think I have to acknowledge I live in a country where the press is not owned and controlled by the government or generally subject to government censorship. So I am one of the blessed 15%. Access to a free press is a blessing. It is one means by which governments and powerful institutions can be called to account and people informed about what is going on in the world. The 'Count Your Blessings...