Freedom of the press is most important with regards to political elections for which of the following reasons?

Select one:

A. Citizens must have the media to inform them of their own best interests.

B. All of these

C. If news outlets are censored during the political process, citizens will be less accurately informed of the issues at hand.

D. If news outlets cannot publish whatever they would like, the quality of civil discourse will fall.

Answer: All of these.

Explanation:

The media should work in the service of the public and citizens. The main task of the media is to report objectively, impartially and truthfully. The media should inform citizens about all political actors on the scene, their actions and results so that citizens can decide in the elections which option is best for them. The media should not censor the news. Citizens should become fully aware of the information.

Communication should not be censored but should be transmitted adequately so that citizens can have full insight into the situation. Censorship is desirable in some explicit and violent cases, but the news context and framework should not be made available to the public. Media outlets must have complete freedom to inform the public. They should not be subjected to political or any other pressure. Only in these circumstances can the media not bias and objectively inform the public.