Kate Jaimet's Blog - Posts Tagged "freedom-of-speech"

The massacre at the Parisien satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has got me thinking about freedom of speech. As writers -- whether journalists or novelists -- I think we have a duty to stick up for freedom of speech, since it is the basis of our professional life, and the foundation of our craft.
While the Internet has given everyone a platform to speak their minds, that freedom of expression (while a good thing) is loosely diffused. On the other hand, the institutions that serve as the traditional bastions of free speech -- like media outlets, publishers, and filmmakers -- seem to be facing a growing number of threats.
I think about those mysterious North Korean cyberterrorists who hacked Sony. It was a pathetic spectacle, really, to see the Sony executives scrambling to apologize for writing a few politically incorrect comments in what were suppposed to be private emails, while the hackers got away with the immeasurably greater crime of shutting down the release of a movie that mocked the North Korean regime. (On that note, I was proud to see that our local independent movie theatre, the Mayfair, screened the movie after Sony changed its mind and allowed a limited release of the film).
I think about the Islamic extremists who killed the cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo, and those who threatened violence and death against the journalists at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten for publishing cartoons about the Prophet Mohammed. Do these people really think that they can wrap the entire world in a burka? I hope that we, collectively, can demonstrate that we believe as deeply and as strongly in the values of the Enlightenment -- freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom to question religious and secular authority, the freedom to overturn superstition and seek truth through science -- as they believe in their dark and violent version of religion.
On a less dire note, I worry about the continuing financial struggles of traditional media outlets, as they continue to deal with the upheaval in the world of newsgathering and publishing. It's true that newspapers have always relied on advertisers, but in the past there was more of a wall between advertising and editorial. Editors, especially at large, financially secure newspapers, concentrated on pursuing great stories not on pleasing sponsors. But more and more now, we see specific journalistic projects being directly sponsored by organizations -- sometimes NGOs, sometimes even government agencies. These organizations, no matter what good work they may do, all have their own agenda. The beauty of an independent news organization is that its agenda (often, I admit, imperfectly realized) is ultimately to tell the story, and ideally to cut through the spin. I worry, especially living in a government town like Ottawa, that the professional communications people (whose job is to tell their side of the story) are starting to vastly outnumber the professional journalists (whose job is to tell both, or all, sides of the story).
Let's take heart in the millions of people who rallied in Paris in support of freedom of speech. This year, I resolve to stand up in my own small way for freedom of speech. To write what I think. Not to censor myself through fear. To speak out against the limits on free speech that I see happening in Canada, like the Harper government's gag order on scientists in the public service.
Je suis Charlie.