The right to freedom of information and responsible journalism
are fundamental to economic and human development. However
these concepts are applied diff erently from country to country.
It can be implied that press freedom is continuously under siege
through either subtle or more emphatic means of pressure. The
media also function as gatekeepers. The very fi rst underlying cause
of this siege is rooted in the process of news production in which
we fi nd concepts that determine how the news is “manufacturedâ€
prior to publication. In Asia, despite its remarkable economic
development, the press continues to be controlled by governments’
approach to journalism as a tool of “social responsibility†or to
foster governments’ objectives.
