In the U.S.
this right is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution. Not all countries are protected by a bill of rights
or the constitutional provision pertaining to Freedom of the Press.
For example, Australia's constitution makes no mention of Freedom
of the Press.
With respect
to governmental information, a government distinguishes which materials
are public or protected from disclosure to the public based on classification
of information as sensitive, classified or secret and being otherwise
protected from disclosure due to relevance of the information to
protecting the national interest. Many governments are also subject
to sunshine laws or freedom of information legislation that are
used to define the ambit of national interest.
International
Freedom of Expression Exchange
The International
Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX), founded in 1992, is a global
network of 71 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends
the right to freedom of expression.
IFEX harnesses
the power of the Internet to rapidly exchange information and mobilise
action on issues such as press freedom, Internet censorship, freedom
of information legislation, criminal defamation and insult laws,
media concentration and attacks on journalists, writers, human rights
defenders and Internet users.
A Clearing House
in Toronto, Canada coordinates the programmes and activities of
IFEX, and is managed by Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
on behalf of the members.
The membership
of IFEX encompasses a broad array of organisations that work to
defend journalists and media personnel, academics, photographers
and camera operators, writers, cyber-dissidents, publishers, cartoonists,
community radio stations and libraries.
Worldwide
press freedom index.
Every year,
the Reporters Without Borders organization establishes a ranking
of countries in terms of their freedom of the press. The list is
based on responses to surveys sent to journalists that are members
of partner organisations of the RWB, as well as related specialists
such as researchers, jurists and human rights activists. The survey
asks questions about direct attacks on journalists and the media
as well as other indirect sources of pressure against the free press,
such as pressure on journalists by non-governmental groups. RWB
is careful to note that the index only deals with press freedom,
and does not measure the quality of journalism.
In 2003, the
countries where press was the most free were Finland, Iceland, the
Netherlands and Norway.
In 2004, apart
from the above countries,Denmark, Ireland, Slovakia, and Switzerland
were tied at the top of the list, followed by New Zealand and Latvia.
The countries with the least degree of press freedom were ranked
with North Korea having the worst, followed by Burma, Turkmenistan,
Eritrea, People's Republic of China (mainland only), Vietnam, Nepal,
Saudi Arabia, and Iran.