Man, Media, and Development: The Press in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The need to communicate is fundamental to human nature. It derives partly from the instinct of self-preservation, as is so evident for example in the situation of the hungry infant crying for food or that of the desperate gestures of the dying person, conveying the intensity of the battle for life and the need for assistance to prolong it. In both instances, by a cry or gesture, the message is communicated and invariably evokes a response. In the animal kingdom, too, one observes an instinctive need to communicate. So too, human beings, like birds and beasts, being gregarious by nature, seek to communicate with one another. The more complex and organized human society becomes, the greater is the need to know and to communicate. Then, the content and the means of communication both tend to become complex and sophisticated. The major problem of communication today is not that among individuals or small groups, but for large masses of persons. UNESCO reported to the U.N. General Assembly in 1957 that two-thirds of the world population (2,000 million people) lacked even minimum access to information about world events at that time. Freedom of information means not only the right to inform but also the right to be informed. This right is linked with the individual's right to the freedom of speech and publication. In the exercise of these