How Free is The Press – Summary
How Free is The Press is a very thought-provoking and informative essay on the freedom of the press by the famous British writer, Dorothy L. Sayers. She has propounded that the so-called freedom of the press is a misnomer.
The press is free in a very restricted and technical sense. The British press in this sense is singularly free in normal times. Only during war-time, some sort of censorship is imposed on the press in England.
The writer asserts that there can be no free people without a free press. It is the backbone of democracy. However, the press is not as free as it is supposed to be.
The editorial policy of a popular daily is governed by the two chief factors – the interests of the advertisers and the interest of its owners. No newspaper can harm their interest. The press works on the premise that general people are not intelligent enough to distinguish truth from falsehood.
So, the press exists not much to express a public opinion as to manufacture it. The press often distorts facts by garbling, miracle, mongering, gratuitous inventions, inaccurate, reporting, and sensational headlines.
So, we must be on our guard and do not take everything reported by the press and newspaper as real and sacrosanct.
Objectives
1. How free is the press is …………
- an essay
- a short story
- a drama
- a fiction
Answer:- an essay
2. How free is the press is written by …………
- H.E. Bates
- Dr. Zakir Hussain
- Dorothy L. Sayers
- Bertrand Russell
Answer:- Dorothy L. Sayers
3. Who was an essayist, playwright, poet?
- Shiga Naoya
- Dorothy L. Sayers
- H.E. Bates
- Anton Chekhov
Answer:- Dorothy L. Sayers
4. Every …………. lives in a perpetual precarious balance.
- book
- story
- newspaper
- man
Answer:- newspaper
5. Who assumes that readers can be made to believe anything?
- Hitler and Northcliffe
- Mussolini and Southclife
- John & Mohan
- Rakesh and Abdullah
Answer:- Hitler and Northcliffe
6. Fact is a deity invoked by the ………… my in the last.
- people
- animal
- bird
- Government
Answer:- people
7. The proprietor of the newspaper has ………..
- the interest of the people
- national interest
- social interest
- personal interest
Answer:- personal interest
8. Censorship is imposed during …………
- peaceful times
- emergency
- election
- traders
Answer:- emergency
9. ……….. are careful not to antagonize the press.
- Politicians
- Teachers
- Doctors
- Traders
Answer:- Politicians
10. The …………. press is, under ordinary conditions, singularly free.
- Indian
- European
- Chinese
- British
Answer:- British
11. Miss Sayers said she would write no more plays, except on ………….
- commission
- politics
- culture
- sports
Answer:- commission
12. Who is the master of the state?
- Government
- Press
- Court
- People
Answer:- People
13. The Press can make or break ………..
- Colony
- People
- Reputation
- Garbling
Answer:- Reputation
A child is Born – Germaine Greer
14. A free and fair press is the true watchdog of ………..
- Colony
- Persons
- Court
- Democracy
Answer:- Democracy
15. A big circulation spells bankruptcy if the paper has to depend on its sales for its …………
- Advertisement
- Policy
- Ethics
- Revenue
Answer:- Revenue
16. Dorothy was born in ……….
- 1883
- 1893
- 1873
- 1863
Answer:- 1893
17. Dorothy died in ……….
- 1967
- 1958
- 1956
- 1957
Answer:- 1957
18. When Dorothy Sayers became one of the first women to graduate from Oxford University?
- 1950
- 1915
- 1918
- 1919
Answer:- 1915
19. Full freedom is restored when it comes ………..
- War
- Famine
- Peace
- flood
Answer:- Peace
20. The word used in the essay for the uncontrolled freedom of one man, or one gang, to impose its will on the world is ………..
- Brutality
- Tyranny
- Dictatorship
- Coerce
Answer:- Tyranny
21. A big circulation spells bankruptcy if the paper has to depend on ………….
- the sales
- advertisers
- the sales
- None of these
Answer:- the sales
22. The author has given the forms of misrepresentation, they are ………..
- five
- four
- seven
- six
Answer:- six
23. The heaviest restriction upon the freedom of public opinion is ……….
- official
- unofficial
- both
- None of these
Answer:- unofficial
24. The first chief source of a newspaper’s revenue is ……….
- donation
- debt
- grant by the government
- advertisement
Answer:- advertisement
25. The second chief source of a newspaper’s revenue is ………..
- debt
- donation
- the wealth of owner
- grant by the government
Answer:- the wealth of the owner
Subjective
1. What is the supposition of content?
Ans:- Supposition of content means that the press has every right to be free and fair. No censorship would be imposed on them, either officially or unofficially.
2. What are the two chief factors that control an editorial policy?
Ans:- The editorial policy is controlled by the interest of the advertisers from whom they get money which helps in its circulation and by the personal and political ambitions of its proprietor.
3. When is generally censorship imposed on the press?
Ans:- Censorship in newspapers is generally not imposed during peaceful or normal times. It is imposed during war-time or emergency when swift decisions and actions are required to be taken by the government.
4. What does miracle mongering refer to?
Ans:- This refers to the reporting of more words spoken by the man in lesser time than the actual words spoken and actual time taken.
5. What is the meaning of ‘garbling’?
Ans:- This means the misrepresentation of facts by the press interviewer who writes the things not spoken by the person being interviewed.
6. Should the press enjoy complete freedom?
Ans:- A free and fair press is the true watchdog of democracy. In normal times, the press should be absolutely free. But we should see through the internal censorship that it imposes on its readers.
The press can create discontent among people, incite them to rebellion and hamper the swift emergency measures during war-time.
So, the press should not be allowed to enjoy absolute freedom.
7. Why are politicians afraid of the press?
Ans:- They are afraid of the press because it can make or ruin their reputation or political career. Politicians are careful not to antagonize the press.
Explanation
1. “When we speak of ‘The freedom of press …………. government”.
>>> This line has been stated by Dorothy L. Sayers in the essay How free is the Press. The writer thinks that the freedom of the press in the technical sense means freedom from direction or censorship by the government in normal times.
In this sense, the press is totally free in England. However, there are various ways in which this freedom is restricted by the government or the owners of the press.
2. “The editorial policy of a popular daily ……….. its large circulation”.
>>> Dorothy L. Sayers in the essay How free is the Press says that the editorial policy of a popular daily is guided by the two chief factors.
One is the interest of the advertisers from whom it gets the money, who enables it to keep up its large circulation.
And the second is the political affiliation of its owner. No paper can go against the ideology of its own masters.
3. “It is difficult for any paper that presents its news soberly to maintain its circulation; perhaps it is true that every nation gets the press it deserves”.
>>> These lines have been taken from How free is the Press which is written by Dorothy L. Sayers. She says that it is very difficult for any paper that presents its news soberly to maintain its circulation.
Almost all newspapers print news that is not based on fact. The newspaper that tries to print only the news that is based on fact struggle for its survival.
But every nation indeed gets the press it deserves. A press must try to present only the true news for the benefit of the people and the nation.