Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

"Everyone has 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."

All states, from the most democratic to the most authoritarian, are committed to this doctrine through the UN system. To deny it is to deny the universality of basic human rights. We recognize that cultural distinctions or economic underdevelopment may affect the character or volume of news flows within a country, but these and other differences are not acceptable explanations for infringements like centralized control of the content of news and information. We seek to assess media freedom using common criteria for all settings, in poor and rich countries as well as in countries of various ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds.