By Ashley Dischinger

Journalists around the world celebrate the importance of press freedoms on World Press Freedom Day. Image from Getty Images.

May 3 marks World Press Freedom Day, a campaign that highlights the importance of freedom of the press. World Press Freedom Day reminds the government of the public’s right to freedom of expression protected under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This day is also an occasion to honor the many journalists that risk their lives, brave jail and even death, in the name of reporting.

Recognizing the importance of a free press

Although many Elon University students remain unclear of specific ideals of what World Press Freedom Day stand for, they still recognize the importance of a free press.

“A free press is important because there isn’t really another entity that has the ability to do the same things,” said Andie Diemer, editor-in-chief of Elon’s student newspaper, the Pendulum. “This is an entire industry that has based itself on serving the public within every aspect–not just one area like other companies. Everyone has to learn and be an expert on every topic before they share the information with the public. Often people don’t realize what a large undertaking it is to create a solid reputation. But without it, the truth within a lot of situations would never been reported.”

Keeping the public informed and not ’stuck in a bubble’

Junior Chinwe Nwoko also recognizes the role that a free press plays in serving the public and keeping it informed.

“It’s good to know what’s going on and not be stuck in a bubble,” Nwoko said, “and to be able to make decisions about anything. (A free press is important) so you’re not kept in the dark and you have a more informed take on life.”

Click below to listen to Nwoko’s thoughts on the importance of press freedoms:

Free press particularly important to student media

Some students say it is particularly important for school media, such as the Pendulum, to enjoy press freedoms. They say if there were restrictions on the stories that were covered, Elon students could become misinformed, or even ignorant, of world events outside the walls of the university.

“I don’t really know a lot about press freedoms,” admitted freshman Erica Bentson, “but I think it’s a really important idea because when we are at Elon we are kind of living in our own world. If what we hear at Elon is censored, we wouldn’t have any idea of what is actually going on in the world and we wouldn’t be able to influence future events.”

Freshman Charlie Kazior agrees that media should not be censored.

“It is important for everyone to be able to voice their opinions,” Kazior said. 

World Press Freedom Day is an initiative that the World Association of Newspapers hosts annually. Each year it is celebrated by a number of international organizations, journalists and other media enthusiasts. This campaign provides opportunities for journalists to independently inform society by publishing any editorial or advertising material that appears on the WAN Web site, free of charge.