Promoting Press Freedom -- U.S. Spends Over $100 Million Per Year

The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely. Today, the U.S. Government spends more than $100 million each year to promote the values of the First Amendment across the world.

This is a noble endeavor, but is this U.S. taxpayer money used wisely?

Freedom House, which tracks press freedom around the world, tells a sorry story of dozens of countries where the press is tightly controlled by autocratic governments. Many of the countries with the greatest media restrictions are also among the world's most violent and most corrupt. These, for example, include Afghanistan and Iraq, where the U.S. has expended tens of billions of aid funds in recent years.

However, there are many countries -- from Central and Eastern Europe through Latin America, East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa -- that have emerged from civil wars and overthrown dictators. These countries are struggling to establish democracy. U.S. foreign aid funds are being deployed in a number of them to strengthen press freedom and educate governments on how to best achieve this.  

A new and fascinating report strives to shed light, in particular, on training top politicians and official to work with the media to inform the public of government operations and policies. The report, published by the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) and written by CIMA former director, Marguerite Hoxie Sullivan, is: "Telling It Straight: How Trustworthy Government Information Promotes Better Media."   Read More at huffingtonpost