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95-551: William Hone (3 June 1780 – 8 November 1842) was an English writer, satirist and bookseller. His victorious court battle against government censorship in 1817 marked a turning point in the fight for British press freedom . Hone has been described as one of the fathers of modern media. According to Associate Professor Kyle Grimes from the University of Alabama, "William Hone arguably did more than any other writer, printer or publisher to shape British popular print culture in

190-508: A 2019 special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists , approximately 25 journalists were murdered on duty in 2019. The figure is claimed to be the lowest since 2002, a year in which at least 21 journalists were killed while they were reporting from the field. Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported 49 killings, the lowest since 2003, when almost 36 journalists were killed. Leading press watchdogs fear persisting danger for

285-679: A Ministerial Member (1817) , was before Mr Justice Abbot (afterwards Lord Tenterden); the second, for parodying the litany and libelling the Prince Regent in The Political Litany (1817) , and the third, for publishing the Sinecurist's Creed (1817) , a parody on the Athanasian Creed , were before Lord Ellenborough . The prosecution took the ground that the prints were harmful to public morals and brought

380-489: A book and print shop with a circulating library in Lambeth Walk . He soon moved close to St Martin-in-the-Fields , where he published Shaw's Gardener (1806). It was at this time that he and his friend, John Bone, tried to establish a popular savings bank. Despite the backing of various wealthy patrons, they were unsuccessful. Bone then joined Hone in a bookseller's business, which was also unsuccessful. In 1811, Hone

475-400: A brave energy, and force of character that knew no fear, and the greater the obstructions to his object, the more determined his perseverance. His exertions were frequently devoted to the relief of private wrong, as well as of public oppression. To his untiring persistence may be ascribed the release of the cruelly incarcerated lunatic W. Norris, who had been for years chained to an iron frame in

570-665: A cell in Bethlem, followed by a general reform of treatment and the eventual dismissal of the governor, W. Haslam about 1813. In his prolonged efforts to save the life of the unfortunate Eliza Fenning he was not so successful. She had been tried for poisoning the family of Mr Turner, a law stationer in Chancery Lane. While waiting sentence my father conversed with her in Newgate, and became so convinced of her innocence that he spared no exertions day or night on her behalf, collected

665-525: A country's legal system can go as far down as its constitution . The concept of freedom of speech is often covered by the same laws as freedom of the press, thereby giving equal treatment to spoken and published expression. Freedom of the press was formally established in Great Britain with the lapse of the Licensing Act in 1695. Sweden was the first country in the world to adopt freedom of

760-542: A crime. The king was above public criticism and statements critical of the government were forbidden, according to the English court of the Star Chamber . The truth was not a defense to seditious libel because the goal was to prevent and punish all condemnation of the government. Locke contributed to the lapse of the Licensing Act in 1695 , whereupon the press needed no license. Still, some libels were tried throughout

855-450: A key mechanism of a functioning, healthy democracy . In the absence of censorship , journalism exists as a watchdog of private and government action, providing information to maintain an informed citizenry of voters. In this perspective, "government efforts to influence published or broadcasted news content, either via media control or by inducing self-censorship , represent a threat to the access of important and necessary information to

950-604: A legal tract, On Merchants' Ships and Seamen , which was praised by his fellow lawyers and earned him a large amount of commercial work; it was later republished in the United States , where it was misattributed to Charles Abbot , the Speaker of the House of Commons . He would be "as eminent and prosperous as a counsel can be at the English bar", although he refused to apply for silk . From 1802 to 1816 he served as "Devil to

1045-591: A long tradition of freedom of speech, including freedom of the press, which yet exists in the XVIII century and in the XIX century. After World War II, Hugh Baillie , the president of the United Press wire service based in the U.S., promoted freedom of news dissemination. In 1944, he called for an open system of news sources and transmission, and a minimum of government regulation of the news. His proposals were aired at

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1140-568: A mass of evidence (which he afterwards printed—a volume of about 200 pages) in her favour, had a petition presented to the Secretary of State praying for reprieve but the judge who tried her, Sir Vicary Gibbs, recorder of London, a notoriously hard man, and an intimate friend of the Turners, had charged the jury vindictively against her, and he pursued the unhappy girl to the scaffold. Years after, Mrs Turner, when dying confessed herself to have been

1235-576: A nervous meltdown when called journalist Paul Pârvu asked him if he felt guilt over Romanian deaths during the revolution. During the exchange, Iliescu referred to Pârvu as an "animal". Modern, major media outlets were founded during the mid-1990s, such as Antena 1 in 1994 and ProTV in 1995. In 1999, the editor of a Ora , a local newspaper, Tiberiu Patru, was arrested before being able to publish an investigation of corruption in Dolj County under. In response, Ora moved its newsroom in front of

1330-523: A published work; however, the compilation of documents was given to writer Frederick Hackworth by Hone's younger daughter Ellen Soul. Hackworth then published the book William Hone. His life and times in 1912. In an 1872 letter to the editor of the Australasian newspaper, Sarah, now living in Melbourne, Australia, said of her father: My father was gifted with a high sense of justice and truth,

1425-610: A second warning from the Russian censorship apparatus Roskomnadzor . On 17 June 2024, a Moscow court issued arrest warrants for IStories editor-in-chief and award-winning investigative reporter Roman Anin and Ekaterina Fomina, a journalist at TV Rain and a former IStories correspondent, on charges of disseminating "false information" about the Russian armed forces in Ukraine. Russia's Interior Ministry added two Russian journalists in exile to its wanted list. Fomina said

1520-519: A small school run by Dame Bettridge, to whom he was very close. In 1783, William's father moved to London and found work in an Attorney's office. He encouraged William Junior to follow in this profession. After two-and-a-half years in the office of a solicitor at Chatham , William Hone Junior returned to London to become clerk to a solicitor at Gray's Inn . He disliked the law as a profession and said he spent more time reading than working for his employer. With an increasing interest in socialism, he joined

1615-417: A third of the world's people live in countries where there is no press freedom. Overwhelmingly, these people live in countries where there is no system of democracy or where there are serious deficiencies in the democratic process. Freedom of the press is an extremely problematic problem/concept for most non-democratic systems of government since, in the modern age, strict control of access to information

1710-464: A very bad book" on a number of grounds: it republished the 1700s translations of Archbishop Wake and Jeremiah Jones without crediting them; it misleadingly presented apocrypha as if a supplement to the New Testament; it combined non-apocryphal works of the early Church Fathers with anonymous apocryphal works without any clarification or distinction; and so on. James did admit that Hone's book

1805-496: A violent disposition; "his temper was naturally bad; it was hasty and it was violent; forming a natural contrast with the rest of his mind", but he successfully controlled this. This occasionally came out in court, however, and he was noted as particularly caustic and intolerant of unnecessarily complex sentences. When one witness, an apothecary, used a particularly complex medical phrase, Abbott shouted that he should "Speak English sir, if you can, or I must swear in an interpreter". He

1900-457: Is considered a landmark in the fight for a free press. Between September 4, 1770 and October 7, 1771 the kingdom of Denmark–Norway had the most unrestricted freedom of press of any country in Europe. This occurred during the regime of Johann Friedrich Struensee , whose second act was to abolish the old censorship laws. However, due to the great amount of mostly anonymous pamphlets published that

1995-412: Is critical to the existence of most non-democratic governments and their associated control systems and security apparatus. To this end, most non-democratic societies employ state-run news organizations to promote the propaganda critical to maintaining an existing political power base and suppress (often very brutally, through the use of police, military, or intelligence agencies) any significant attempts by

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2090-434: Is known to subjectively measure the level of freedom and editorial independence that is enjoyed by the press in every nation and significant disputed territories around the world. Levels of freedom are scored on a scale from 1 (most free) to 100 (least free). Depending on the basics, the nations are then classified in three types: 1. "Free" 2. "Partly Free" 3. "Not Free". A free and independent press has been theorized to be

2185-694: The Ancient Mysteries Explained , in 1826 the Every-day Book , in 1827–1828 the Table-Book , and in 1829 the Year-Book . All three were collections of curious information on manners, antiquities and various other subjects. The Every-day Book , Table Book and Year Book are the works by which Hone is best remembered. In preparing them he had the approval of Robert Southey and the assistance of Charles Lamb , (with whom he

2280-638: The Attorney General ", opening all government prosecutions, and was standing counsel for the Bank of England and many Deans and Prelates in the Church of England . By 1807, he was making £8,000 a year, and later exceeded this amount; it was remarked that he earned more money than any other barrister of that time. Abbott was not a "flashy" barrister; although known as an excellent lawyer, his speeches were monotonous and he lacked an imagination. In 1808 he

2375-597: The County of Middlesex ; having feared that "Lord Abbott" would leave him open to ridicule, he instead picked the name of a Kentish town near his roots. On 24 May, Abbott formally took up his position, attending the House of Lords regularly, and was the last Chief Justice to wear his official robes to the Lords (other than those acting as interim Speakers ). In 1830, he introduced several bills to Parliament following reports on

2470-520: The Court of King's Bench on 3 May to replace Simon Le Blanc . Abbott, unfamiliar with the Court of King's Bench (having been a regional lawyer rather than a London-based one), was initially a disappointment, but soon improved. By 1818, he showed "the highest judicial excellence", although he was criticised for snapping at boring barristers and for taking the government's side in prosecutions. That year,

2565-815: The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (since 2000) as well as the European Convention on Human Rights (since 1950). Within the EU enlargement process, guaranteeing media freedom is named a "key indicator of a country's readiness to become part of the EU". According to the New York Times , "Britain has a long tradition of a free, inquisitive press", but "[u]nlike the United States, Britain has no constitutional guarantee of press freedom." Freedom of

2660-685: The Inner Temple in 1793, and worked for two years under Sir George Wood as a special pleader ; it was said that he had finished his work as a special pleader faster than "any man before or since". He was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1796. Abbott began practising on the Oxford Circuit ; while travelling there he had a fall from his horse, which broke his leg in two places and left him permanently lame. In 1802, he published

2755-842: The King's Counsel , it was noticed that he was unable to drink his wine properly. He went to the Midland Circuit in June, as it was the easiest one, but he suffered from "a violent cough" and other symptoms, returning to his home in Hendon. After the first day of a two-day case he found himself losing his appetite and suffering from a fever, which caused him to talk incoherently and become delirious. The disease baffled doctors, and finally killed him on 4 November 1832 at his home in Queen Square, London ; his last words were "and now, gentlemen of

2850-543: The London Corresponding Society in 1796. One of the key campaigns of this Society was to gain the vote for working men. Deeply unpopular with the Government, who were not in favour of Parliamentary reform, some members were tried for treason and sedition . Hone was married in 1800 to Sarah Johnson. From 1801 to 1825 they had 12 children. With money given to him by his mother-in-law, he started

2945-463: The Middle Temple in 1787, transferring to the Inner Temple in 1793, and was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1796. Abbott was noted as an excellent barrister, earning more than any other during his time at the Bar, despite being considered unimaginative and a poor speaker. He was offered a position as a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in 1808, which he turned down; he accepted

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3040-608: The Old Bailey , keeping himself and his growing family by contributions to magazines and reviews. He hired a small shop in Fleet Street but this was twice robbed, with valuable books placed on show stolen. In 1815 he started the Traveller newspaper, and tried in vain to save Elizabeth Fenning , a cook convicted on thin evidence of poisoning her employers with arsenic. Although Fenning was executed, Hone's 240-page book on

3135-511: The Whigs or the Tories , and that they were "essentially and indispensably necessary" to the parties' operations. John Stuart Mill in 1869 in his book On Liberty approached the problem of authority versus liberty from the viewpoint of a 19th-century utilitarian : The individual has the right of expressing himself so long as he does not harm other individuals. The good society is one in which

3230-446: The classification of information as sensitive, classified, or secret, or the relevance of the information to protecting the national interest . Many governments are also subject to " sunshine laws " or freedom of information legislation that define the ambit of national interest and enable citizens to request access to government-held information. The United Nations ' 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "Everyone has

3325-488: The "true Church of England , at this moment, lies in the Editors of its Newspapers. These preach to the people daily, weekly; admonishing kings themselves; advising peace or war, with an authority which only the first Reformers , and a long-past class of Popes , were possessed of". Similarly, Charles Dickens , in his Pickwick Papers (1837), caricatured the newspapers as but the "chosen organ and representative" of either

3420-621: The 18th century, until "the Society of the Bill of Rights" led by John Horne Tooke and John Wilkes organized a campaign to publish Parliamentary Debates. This culminated in three defeats of the Crown in the 1770 cases of Almon, Miller and Woodfall , who all had published one of the Letters of Junius , and the unsuccessful arrest of John Wheble in 1771. Thereafter the Crown was much more careful in

3515-665: The COVID-19 pandemic . The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states: Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden PC (7 October 1762 – 4 November 1832), was a British barrister and judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench between 1818 and 1832. Born in obscure circumstances to a barber and his wife in Canterbury, Abbott

3610-530: The Chancellor's medals for English and Latin prose. After an initial attempt to win them which failed, he won the Latin prize in his second year and the English prize in the third. Abbot was then elected a fellow of Corpus Christi where, acting as a tutor to the son of Sir Francis Buller , he first considered becoming a barrister . On 16 November 1787 he became a member of the Middle Temple , transferring to

3705-703: The Geneva Conference on Freedom of Information in 1948 but were blocked by the Soviets and the French. Since 1950, the European Convention on Human Rights includes "Article 10" related to Freedom of expression which applies to Member states of the Council of Europe . Media freedom is a fundamental right that applies to all member states of the European Union and its citizens , as defined in

3800-468: The Gospels, Epistles, and other pieces now extant, attributed in the first four centuries to Jesus Christ, his Apostles and their companions, and not included in the New Testament by its compilers; translated from the original tongues, and now first collected into one volume . This book has gone through four editions and many reprints, including e-books and microforms, the latest in 2007. In 1823 he published

3895-482: The Inquiries of its Former Mistress". The couple had two sons and two daughters; John (2nd Baron Tenterden), Charles, Mary, and Catherine. Catherine later married John Rowland Smyth . Abbott was considered cautious, with an "aversion to all that was experimental" and a "want of fancy" which were considered excellent traits for a judge, giving him "a very prominent rank indeed amongst our ablest judges". He possessed

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3990-671: The Lord Chief Justice Lord Ellenborough had a stroke, forcing his retirement. Most of the other judges and legal figures were inappropriate for the role; Sir Samuel Shepherd , for example, was while an able lawyer too deaf to sit as a judge. As a result, Abbott was appointed, and formally took up his position on 4 November 1818. As Lord Chief Justice he saw the Court of King's Bench flourish, with competent Justices and his own abilities; "[Abbott] had more knowledge of mankind than any of [the Justices], and

4085-401: The Lords, and is considered to have greatly shortened his life; he fought strongly for the city corporations, which he claimed the bill treated "with absolute contempt", but would be defeated. Having threatened that, should it pass, "Never, never my Lords, shall I enter the doors of this House", he was true to his word, and never returned to politics, although from 8 August to 3 September 1827 he

4180-516: The Lords. Continuing to sit as Lord Chief Justice, Abbott gradually grew weaker, and finally fell ill halfway through a two-day trial. His disease baffled doctors, and he died on 4 November 1832 at his home in Queen Square, London . Abbott was born 7 October 1762 in Canterbury to John Abbott, a barber, and his wife Alice. Abbot lived in a "small, mean-looking house" near the Cathedral , and

4275-495: The Moon (1820) and The Political Showman (1821), all illustrated by Cruikshank. Many of his squibs are directed against a certain "Dr Slop", a nickname given by him to Dr (afterwards Sir John) Stoddart , publisher of The Times . In researching his defence Hone had come upon some curious and, at that time, little trodden literary ground, and the results were shown by his publication in 1820 of The Apocryphal New Testament: being all

4370-626: The National Theater of Craiova to protest Patru's arrest. The 2000s saw the creation of many new media outlets across television, radio, and the traditional press. In 2023, Reporters Without Borders identified safety as a concern for Romanian journalists. More than 120 journalists remained in prison in Turkey in 2019, making it the most prolific incarcerator of journalists in the world. In some countries, including Turkey, journalists were threatened or arrested for their coverage of

4465-726: The Romanian citizenry, was highly illegal and severe repercussions for existed for listening. Directly following the Romanian Revolution , post-communist corruption was largely the subject of investigative reports. At the same time, widespread violence against journalists began. During the June 1990 Mineriad , a series of protests against the National Salvation Front , counter-demonstrators assaulted reporting journalists. In 1992, President Ion Iliescu had

4560-591: The Russian military and its operations in Ukraine, forcing independent media in Russia to stop reporting on Ukraine or cease operations. At least 1,000 Russian journalists have fled Russia since February 2022. About 85% of Russians get most of their information from Russian state-controlled media. Novaya Gazeta 's editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov was awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his "efforts to safeguard freedom of expression". In March 2022, Novaya Gazeta suspended its print activities after receiving

4655-462: The abolition of the king's prerogative to cancel licenses in the 1840s. The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo , criticized Russia for limiting the activities of VOA and Radio Free Europe in Russia with a governmental order demanding reviewing the subject by Moscow. On 4 March 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill introducing prison sentences of up to 15 years for those who publish "knowingly false information" about

4750-538: The application of libel ; for example, in the aftermath of the Peterloo Massacre , Burdett was convicted, whereas by contrast, the Junius affair was over a satire and sarcasm about the non-lethal conduct and policies of the government. In Britain's American colonies, the first editors discovered their readers enjoyed it when they criticised the local governor; the governors discovered they could shut down

4845-467: The arrest warrant would affect her professional life as she would not be able to travel to many countries that could arrest her and extradite her to Russia. Until 1989, Romania was part of the communist bloc as the Socialist Republic of Romania . The communist regime heavily restricted freedom of the press and other civil liberties. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , though available to

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4940-593: The early decades of the nineteenth century." Hone was born at Bath on 3 June 1780, one of three children to William Hone Senior (born at Homewood Farm in Ripley, Surrey ) and Francis Stalwell. William's only surviving brother, Joseph Hone (1784–1861) was a Supreme Court judge in Tasmania, Australia. William was an inquisitive child, whose father taught him to read from the Bible. For a number of years William attended

5035-435: The eight countries with the most press freedom are, in order: Norway , Denmark , Sweden , Estonia , Finland , Ireland , Portugal , and Costa Rica . The ten countries with the least press freedom are, in order: North Korea , Eritrea , Iran , Turkmenistan , Myanmar , China , Vietnam , Cuba , Iraq , and Syria . Freedom of the Press is a yearly report by the US-based non-profit organization Freedom House . It

5130-402: The film industry, from directors to the lowliest assistant, had to sign an oath of loyalty to the Nazi Party due to the opinion-changing power Goebbels perceived movies to have; Goebbels himself maintained some personal control over every single film made in Nazi Europe. Journalists who crossed the Propaganda Ministry were routinely imprisoned. One of the world's first freedom of the press acts

5225-427: The greatest number of persons enjoy the greatest possible amount of happiness. Applying these general principles of liberty to freedom of expression, Mill states that if we silence an opinion, we may silence the truth. The individual freedom of expression is therefore essential to the well-being of society. Mill wrote: The December 1817 Trials of writer and satirist William Hone for publishing three political pamphlets

5320-531: The idea, writing "when as debtors and delinquents may walk abroad without a keeper, but inoffensive books must not stir forth without a visible jailer in their title." Although at the time it did little to halt the practice of licensing, it would be viewed later a significant milestone as one of the most eloquent defenses of press freedom. Milton's central argument was that the individual is capable of using reason and distinguishing right from wrong, and good from bad. In order to be able to exercise this ration right,

5415-407: The individual must have unlimited access to the ideas of his fellow men in "a free and open encounter." Milton's writings developed the concept of the open marketplace of ideas , the idea that when people argue against each other, good arguments will prevail. One form of speech that was widely restricted in Great Britain was seditious libel , and laws were in place that made criticizing the government

5510-406: The jury, you will consider of your verdict". He was interred at the Foundling Hospital , of which he was a governor. Abbott married Mary Lamotte on 30 July 1795. He enjoyed the domestic element of his life, and records show love poetry written to his wife. Prior to their marriage Mary had sent him a lock of her hair; in exchange, he wrote a poem for her entitled "The Answer of a Lock of Hair to

5605-447: The latter years of his life he became a follower of Rev. Thomas Binney . In 1830 Hone edited Strutt's Sports and Pastimes of the people of England , and contributed to the first edition of The Penny Magazine . He was also sub-editor of The Patriot . After a series of strokes, he died at Tottenham on 8 November 1842 and was buried at Dr Watts' Walk in Abney Park Cemetery , Stoke Newington . Besides his immediate family, his funeral

5700-512: The law may suppress abuses of this freedom. However, Bibles, catechisms, liturgical and prayer books shall not be printed without the prior permission of the Bishop. After the abolition of the monarchy in 1946 and the abrogation of the Statute in 1948, the Constitution of the Republic of Italy guarantees the freedom of the press, as stated in Article 21, Paragraphs 2 and 3: The press may not be subjected to any authorisation or censorship. Seizure may be permitted only by judicial order stating

5795-447: The learned professions as well as in literature. A short biography of Hone's life written by his friend and sometime neighbour, Frances Rolleston, was published five years after his death, a revised edition six years later, under the title Some Account of the Conversion from Atheism to Christianity of the Late William Hone . The medieval scholar M. R. James sharply criticized Hone's The apocryphal New Testament as "to speak frankly,

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5890-598: The level of press freedom worldwide. Some create subjective lists, while others are based on quantitative data: Each year, The Committee to Protect Journalists produces a comprehensive list of all working journalists killed in relation to their employment, including profiles of each deceased journalist within an exhaustive database, and an annual census of incarcerated journalists (as of midnight, December 1). The year 2017 reported record findings of jailed journalists, reaching 262. Turkey , China , and Egypt account for more than half of all global journalists jailed. As per

5985-428: The life of journalists. The drop in the murder of in-field journalists came across during the "global attention on the issue of impunity in journalist murders", focusing on the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018 and Daphne Caruana Galizia , a Maltese blogger in October 2017. Every year, Reporters Without Borders establishes a subjective ranking of countries in terms of their freedom of

6080-504: The media or individual journalists to challenge the approved "government line" on contentious issues. In such countries, journalists operating on the fringes of what is deemed to be acceptable will very often find themselves the subject of considerable intimidation by agents of the state. This can range from simple threats to their professional careers (firing, professional blacklisting ) to death threats , kidnapping , torture , and assassination . Central, Northern, and Western Europe have

6175-436: The murderess. Of retiring habits, simple yet refined tastes and courteous manners, my father was essentially a gentleman and while he had an utter contempt of such as Mr Thackeray termed 'stuck-up people, he instinctively conceded to every rank of life its due proprieties. His society was courted for the attractiveness of his conversation, in which few excelled, and he numbered among his friends many eminent in art, sciences and

6270-402: The newspapers. The most dramatic confrontation came in New York in 1734, where the governor brought John Peter Zenger to trial for criminal libel after the publication of satirical attacks. The defense lawyers argued that according to English common law, the truth was a valid defense against libel. The jury acquitted Zenger, who became the iconic American hero for freedom of the press. The result

6365-443: The prayer-book and even religion itself into contempt. The real motives of the prosecution were political: Hone had ridiculed the habits and exposed the corruption of those in power. He went to the root of the matter when he wished the jury "to understand that, had he been a publisher of ministerial parodies, he would not then have been defending himself on the floor of that court." In spite of illness and exhaustion Hone spoke on each of

6460-416: The press into its constitution with the Freedom of the Press Act of 1766. Freedom of the press is not construed as an absence of interference by outside entities, such as a government or religious organization, but rather as a right for authors to have their works published by other people. This idea was famously summarized by the 20th-century American journalist , A. J. Liebling , who wrote, "Freedom of

6555-471: The press is guaranteed only to those who own one". Freedom of the press gives the printer or publisher exclusive control over what the publisher chooses to publish, including the right to refuse to print anything for any reason. If the author cannot reach a voluntary agreement with a publisher to produce the author's work, then the author must turn to self-publishing . Beyond legal definitions, several non-governmental organizations use other criteria to judge

6650-409: The press was established in Great Britain in 1695, with Alan Rusbridger , former editor of The Guardian , stating: "When people talk about licensing journalists or newspapers the instinct should be to refer them to history. Read about how licensing of the press in Britain was abolished in 1695. Remember how the freedoms won here became a model for much of the rest of the world, and be conscious of how

6745-436: The press was suppressed in Nazi Germany by the Reichstag Fire Decree of President Paul von Hindenburg , just as Adolf Hitler was coming to power. Hitler suppressed freedom of the press through Joseph Goebbels ' Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda . The Ministry acted as a central control point for all media, issuing orders as to what stories could be run and what stories would be suppressed. Anyone involved in

6840-469: The press. The Press Freedom Index list is based on responses to surveys sent to journalists that are members of partner organizations 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 and other indirect sources of pressure against the free press, such as non-governmental groups. In 2022,

6935-502: The public and affect the quality of democracy". An independent press "serves to increase political knowledge, participation, and voter turnout ", acting as an essential driver of civic participation. Turkey , China , Egypt , Eritrea , and Saudi Arabia accounted for 70% of all journalists that were imprisoned in 2018. CPJ reported that "After China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, the worst jailers are Eritrea, Vietnam, and Iran." According to Reporters Without Borders , more than

7030-868: The reason and only for offences expressly determined by the law on the press or in case of violation of the obligation to identify the persons responsible for such offences. The Constitution allows the warrantless confiscation of periodicals in cases of absolute urgency, when the Judiciary cannot timely intervene, on the condition that a judicial validation must be obtained within 24 hours. Article 21 also gives restrictions against those publications considered offensive by public morality , as stated in Paragraph 6: Publications, performances, and other exhibits offensive to public morality shall be prohibited. Measures of preventive and repressive measure against such violations shall be established by law. In 1933, freedom of

7125-443: The right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers." This philosophy is usually accompanied by legislation ensuring various degrees of freedom of scientific research (known as scientific freedom ), publishing, and the press. The depth to which these laws are entrenched in

7220-402: The same offer in 1816, receiving the customary knighthood and being appointed a Serjeant-at-Law . Three months after he started sitting as a judge he was transferred to the Court of King's Bench , where he was initially rather poor, being unfamiliar with the court's business. Within two years he showed "the highest judicial excellence", and when Lord Ellenborough had a stroke in 1818, Abbott

7315-419: The son of Alexandre Georges Fourdinois  [ de ] . The 2018 play Trial by Laughter by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman covers the three trials of Hone in 1817. Freedom of the press Without respect to governmental information, any government may distinguish which materials are public or protected from disclosure to the public. State materials are protected due to either one of two reasons:

7410-550: The state of the Ecclesiastical Courts, common law courts and law of real property; all were passed, except the ecclesiastical bills, as Parliament ran out of time to hear them. They were heard during the next Parliamentary session in 1831, and both passed; they "by no means established for him the reputation of a skilful legislator... the judges have found it infinitely difficult to put a reasonable construction upon them". The Reform Act 1832 led to his departure from

7505-555: The subject, The Important Results of an Elaborate Investigation into the Mysterious Case of Eliza Fenning – widely considered a landmark in investigative journalism – demolished the prosecution's case. From 1 February to 25 October 1817, Hone published the Reformists' Register , using it to criticise state abuses, which he later attacked in the famous political squibs and parodies, illustrated by George Cruikshank . At

7600-802: The three days for about seven hours. Although his judges were biased against him, he was acquitted on each count, and the result was received enthusiastically by immense crowds inside and outside the court. During this time, Hone was considered the most famous man in England. Soon afterwards, a public collection was made on his behalf. A recent play about the 1817 trials, Trial by Laughter , was written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman . It began its run in English theatres in September 2018. Among Hone's most successful political satires were The Political house that Jack built (1819) , The Queen's Matrimonial Ladder (1820), Ill favour of Queen Caroline , The Man in

7695-515: The time of publishing the Register, Hone mentions his office as Number 67, Old Bailey, three doors from Ludgate Hill . In April 1817 three ex-officio accusations were filed against him by the attorney-general, Sir William Garrow . Three separate trials took place in the Guildhall before special juries on 18, 19 and 20 December 1817. The first, for publishing The Late John Wilkes's Catechism of

7790-603: The world still watches us to see how we protect those freedoms." Until 1694, Great Britain had an elaborate system of licensing ; the most recent was seen in the Licensing of the Press Act, 1662 . No publication was allowed without the accompaniment of a government-granted license. Fifty years earlier, at a time of civil war , John Milton wrote his pamphlet Areopagitica (1644). In this work Milton argued forcefully against this form of government censorship and parodied

7885-578: Was an emerging tension between the media and the government. By the mid-1760s, there were 24 weekly newspapers in the 13 colonies, and the satirical attack on the government became common features in American newspapers. In the Victorian era , the press became more influential than it had been previously, to the dismay of some readers. Thomas Carlyle , in his essay " Signs of the Times " (1829), said that

7980-416: Was attended by his long-term collaborator George Cruikshank and the acclaimed author Charles Dickens . There are many books available on Hone's life and career. In the years before his death, he and his eldest daughter, Sarah Burn, worked together to compile his personal papers and information in order to put together a biography. Sarah transcribed while William spoke. They were not successful in achieving

8075-521: Was chosen to replace him as Lord Chief Justice. His reign at the head of the Court of King's Bench saw the court flourish, with strong justices and his own much-admired abilities. He was appointed to the peerage in 1827, sitting as Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden, and initially attended the House of Lords regularly. His opposition to the Reform Act 1832 , which he claimed treated city corporations "with absolute contempt", led to his refusal to attend

8170-693: Was critical and often slanderous towards Struensee's own regime, he reinstated some restrictions regarding the freedom of press a year later, October 7, 1771. After the Italian unification in 1861, the Albertine Statute of 1848 was adopted as the constitution of the Kingdom of Italy . The Statute granted the freedom of the press with some restrictions in case of abuses and in religious matters, as stated in Article 28: The press shall be free, but

8265-473: Was educated initially at a dame school before moving to The King's School, Canterbury in 1769. He was noted as an excellent student, receiving an exhibition scholarship from the school in March 1781, when he matriculated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford . Here he was elected a fellow , and also served as a tutor to the son of Sir Francis Buller , which first made him consider becoming a barrister. He joined

8360-405: Was employed as an auctioneer for London booksellers. During this time he expanded his interest in journalism and embarked on investigations into the condition of patients in mental asylums. His investigations into the treatment of inmates at Bethlem Hospital ("Bedlam") outraged the public and politicians alike and consequently Bedlam's Governor resigned. Around this time Hone took a small lodging in

8455-596: Was great friends) as well as his son-in-law, Jacob Henry Burn (1794–1869). Despite the popularity of these books, Hone was not financially successful, and was lodged in King's Bench Prison for a short period for outstanding debts. Friends came to his assistance, and he subsequently opened the Green Grasshopper coffee house with his wife and two eldest daughters in Gracechurch Street. By this time Hone's attitude towards religion had changed, and during

8550-401: Was his first exposure to such works and kindled a fondness for it in spite of its flaws, and published his own collection of New Testament apocrypha in 1924 in the hopes of replacing Hone's version. The Australian Brian Hone is a descendant of William's via his son Alfred Hone, a sculptor. The Hone's youngest daughter Alice was married to the French furniture designer Henri Auguste Fourdinois,

8645-408: Was initially educated at a dame school . During his childhood he was noted as "industrious, apprehensive, regular and correct in all his conduct". He attended The King's School, Canterbury , from 1769, where he was such a good student that he received an exhibition scholarship on his matriculation at Corpus Christi College, Oxford , in March 1781. At the time there were only two awards at Oxford:

8740-638: Was interim Chancellor of the Exchequer , following the convention that, when vacant, the position should be held by the Lord Chief Justice. Abbott first began to grow ill in May 1832, when he wrote to Sir Egerton Brydges that "My spirit is so depressed, that when I am not strongly excited by some present object that admits of no delay, I sink into something very nearly approaching torpidity". Although he got somewhat better, giving his annual dinner to

8835-508: Was introduced in Sweden in 1766 ( Swedish Freedom of the Press Act ), due in part to classical liberal member of parliament, Ostrobothnian priest, Anders Chydenius . Excepted and liable to prosecution was only vocal opposition to the king and the Church of Sweden . The act was largely rolled back after King Gustav 's coup d'état in 1772, restored after the overthrowing of his son, Gustav IV of Sweden in 1809, and fully recognized with

8930-432: Was more skilful as a moderator in forensic disputation". Abbott's central weakness as a judge was seen to be his support of James Scarlett , his leader when Abbott was a barrister; "The timid junior, become Chief Justice, still looked up to his old leader with dread, was afraid of offending him, and was always delighted when he could decide in his favour". On 30 April 1827, Abbott was made Baron Tenterden , of Hendon in

9025-555: Was offered a position as a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas , but refused it. After eight more years of work, however, he felt that his health could no longer take the strain, and accepted a position in the Court of Common Pleas on 24 January 1816, along with becoming a Serjeant-at-Law as required. Abbott was granted the customary knighthood , with the motto "Labore", which he also used for his peerage. He stayed in this post for barely three months, with no records of his work there surviving, before being transferred against his will to

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