World Press Freedom Day being observed today

World Press Freedom Day is being observed today. Every year May 3rd is observed as World Press Freedom Day. According to UNESCO, the day dedicated to freedom of press underscores the need for governments and people across the world to ”respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics.” World Press Freedom Day is a day of showing solidarity with journalists, photo-journalists, and all associated with the media who brave the toughest conditions to disseminate information and bring news from across the world to the homes of people.

In his message, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged all governments to do everything in their power to support a free, independent, and diverse media. He said, in many countries, journalists and media workers face censorship, abuse, harassment, detention, and even death simply for doing their jobs.

This year’s World Press Freedom Day theme “Information as a Public Good” serves as a call to affirm the importance of cherishing information as a public good.

The three topics to be highlighted at this year’s World Press Freedom Day 2021 Global Conference, as per UNESCO are:

• Steps to ensure the economic viability of news media.
• Mechanisms for ensuring transparency of Internet companies.
• Enhanced Media and Information Literacy (MIL) capacities that enable people to recognize and value, as well as defend and demand, journalism as a vital part of information as a public good.

Here’s a look at messages of well-known personalities: