Free Press: Bane or Boon?

After some INTENSIVE and EXTENSIVE research, i feel that FREE PRESS is more good than bad.
According to www.dictionary.com, free press is defined as 'a press not restricted or controlled by government censorship regarding politics or ideology'. Free press can bring alot of benefits to people, but it may also be harmful at times too.

As we all know, knowledge is power. However, every action has a reaction, every force has an opposing force, free press is no different. Although it is very helpful to us, some idiots might misuse this and cause all sort of problems of different scales.Take for example terrorists. They mastermind attention-grabbing attacks that will be featured in any media and through this, they succeed in planting fear in people who have seen the news. One such example is the London bombings. A few people executing the attack can strike fear in a few million people, the media is powerful isn't it? Can governments stop such incidents from being broadcasted to the people? No, because the media has the freedom to comment and release such news. But to me, power has both positive and negative connotations, it depends on how one views it.

Also, the free press has the power to intoxicate one's mind. take for example al-Qaeda and extremist movements. They have used this news channels for many years, poisoning the Muslim public’s view of the West. It's the same as propaganda or brainwashing. If something is always repeated to you,through a medium which you can trust, you will gradually be accustomed to it and believe it's true.The above points which i had raised seem to contradict my stand that the free press is a power rather than a threat. But it is not the case.

Why? Because the pros outweighs the cons tremendously. The blacksheeps can be identified and awareness can be raised on these people misusing free press. Free press is powerful because it can deliver the latest happenings to us, one example is the blogs. Blogs have been around in the 90s but it is not only till recent times where the blogs start to enjoy some popularity. And who says blogs are online diarys where people whine about their lives or post vehement comments on teachers and principals? It has evolved into another medium where people can get the latest and fatest news. Why fastest? Because they do not need editing or censorships, unlike mainstream news. One example is the 2004 tsunami, where news of it surface first on blogs, way earlier than Reuters, CNN or BBC.

Lastly, i want to comment on censorship by the governments. To many, censorship seems to be a bad thing, a breach in freedom of speech and expressions. But i feel that with government censorship, news that may cause uprising or violent reactions can be blocked off, reviewed first before publishing, which is a good thing!Thus, i feel that the free press is more of a power than a threat!