The Disputed Freedoms of a Disrupted Press

The Disputed Freedoms of a Disrupted Press explores the origins, connections, and contradictions evident amongst divergent understandings of press freedom around the world.

Drawing on examples from various countries and cultures, this book distinguishes the universal right of free expression from the more complex and innately conditional liberties claimed by news media. It examines journalists’ common goals and norms in light of polarized and disordered information channels, reckonings with identity and privilege, diminished public trust, and altered revenue streams. The author discusses emerging forms of accurate, contextualized news production and argues that journalistic autonomy can be sustained only through demonstrated accountability for providing factual information about public affairs according to self-regulated professional standards. The book concludes by proposing a principle-based framework for enhancing the case for press protections and opposing disinformation while minimizing harm. Adopting this approach would require many publishers and editors to consider paradigm shifts and structural changes.

This is a timely contribution to the body of literature on press freedom and will be a valued resource for advanced students and researchers seeking a contemporary understanding of journalistic practice and the evolving foundations of media law.

Ivor Shapiro is Scholar in Residence at the Centre for Free Expression, Toronto Metropolitan University. He is a former chair of that university’s School of Journalism, where he taught narrative reporting as well as media ethics and law until 2020. Shapiro’s scholarship on journalists’ professional identity and practice has been published in leading international journals and collections and he is an editorial board member of Journalism Studies. Previous roles have included chair of the ethics advisory committee of the Canadian Association of Journalists, principal investigator of the Canadian Worlds of Journalism Study, founding editor of J-Source.ca, managing editor of Chatelaine magazine, and contributing editor of Saturday Night.