A Time of Change and the Role of Courage: News in the Digital Age

As we approach World Press Freedom Day on May 3 and consider its theme of 21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers, our thoughts naturally turn to the Middle East. Over the last four months, citizens there took to the streets to demand change. We saw two seemingly entrenched regimes toppled. We see several others on the edge of collapse. And we see how news and information has broken free of the control of these regimes.

Making the most of these new channels, citizens called undemocratic governments to account for denying them a voice in how they are governed. Social media was widely used to rally protestors and inform compatriots and the world about unfolding events. People and news organizations in these countries and around the world turned to Twitter, Facebook, and blogs to track fast-breaking developments. Live blogs on Al Jazeera, BBC, the Guardian, The New York Times and other major news organizations integrated their own reporting with tweets from citizens and blog postings from citizen journalists to report the news as it happened. And in turn, social media via mobile telephones and the Internet drew attention to the work of journalists across the region and reporting from international capitals.

At the same time, however, we saw these regimes push back and attempt to stifle the use of the Internet and mobile applications. Internet and mobile service was cut off in a spectacular demonstration of how the switch could be flipped. Bloggers were specifically targeted for intimidation, beatings, and arrest, and journalists were detained, attacked and killed.

But what happens after a regime topples? Will democracy take root in Egypt and Tunisia? Will the new governments that take over respect the right to freedom of expression? I am reminded of events that swept across the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe twenty years ago. Many of the countries remain repressive, even if they now have a veneer of democracy through (fixed) direct elections, (state-controlled) private media, and (government organized) NGOs. Others are on the path to democracy, even if they haven’t yet found the end of the trail. And some have made the transition, acquired EU membership, and share their open media models with others.

The IREX Media Sustainability Index for Europe and Eurasia documents this journey over the last ten years for 21 countries of the region.  When their transitions began in 1989 and 1991, digital media did not exist. The 2011 edition, released today, points to the promise of social media, online outlets and mobile platforms in this region, and offers hope to those still struggling twenty years later under repressive regimes.  In Armenia, bloggers and citizen journalists cover stories ignored by the mainstream media. In Belarus, after the election crackdowns on websites, reporters and citizen journalists increasingly turned to social media sites to get information out. And in Central Asia with its highly controlled media sectors, online news and citizen journalists are increasingly challenging the news monopolies.

We hope that digital media can accelerate the transition for those in the Middle East. But let us not forget the role of old-fashioned courage, perseverance, and a commitment to seeking and telling the truth -- no matter the medium. Smart phones, digital cameras, apps and laptops are nothing without the people who possess these traits. They are the core of what we honor every World Press Freedom Day.

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This blog was originally posted on the World Press Freedom Day website. IREX is a member of the Executive Committee organizing this year's celebration in Washington, DC.