Editorial: World Press Freedom Day is a reminder of vital role

May 3 doesn’t really seem like a holiday for most people. It’s after Easter and before Memorial Day. It falls in that middle ground of spring days that just run into one another.

But May 3 is a holiday that flies under the radar, although it speaks to something that touches lives around the globe — World Press Freedom Day.

The date is tied to the passage of the Declaration of Windhoek, when the United Nations tied human rights to a free press in Africa in 1992.

It wasn’t the first time freedom of the press was validated. It was stitched into the U.S. Constitution in the First Amendment. Even before that, Sweden passed the Freedom of the Press Act in 1766. Among the first real steps toward a free press came in 1695, when the British House of Commons declined to renew the Licensing Act that kept newspapers beholden to the approval of the government.

But with that declaration, the United Nations did more than say journalists should be free to do their work. Instead of treating the press as a valuable option, it spoke of it as a vital organ.

“The worldwide trend towards democracy and freedom of information and expression is a fundamental contribution to the fulfillment of human aspirations,” the U.N. stated.

Yes, it was speaking of the abuses that were occurring in African nations. At that time, 17 journalists were imprisoned on the continent, and 48 had been killed over 21 years.

According to Reporters without Borders, 568 journalists or media workers are detained worldwide today. This year, seven have been killed. But, as horrific as that is, another danger is the brutal attack on the news itself.

Freedom of the press must be balanced by its responsibility. Journalism must work constantly and assiduously toward the best sourcing, the clearest writing, the most critical eye on what is happening in our world. The press is the watchdog of how things work, why they fall down and who must be held accountable.

But the other factor is that the press is not the only player in maintaining freedom and responsibility. News outlets must be valued — by government, industry, nonprofits and the public — or that “fulfillment of human aspirations” will fail.

World Press Freedom Day does not just remember that declaration made in 1992 or the protections enshrined in documents such as the Bill of Rights. World Press Freedom Day reminds us journalism is a thread that links all freedoms, and a threat to the truth is dangerous to us all.