Freedom of the press traditionally has had a rocky road – especially in the dictatorship countries. Today more than B0 percent of the world population does not have the same brand of free press that we enjoy in this country, according to a World Press Freedom Committee spokesman. In America, where the First Amendment provides for freedom of the press, we still have problems adverse court interpretations, government officials who would suppress public information. etc. But the greater stumbling blocks usually are found elsewhere on the global scene in the form of government control or censorship; or restrictions and/or harassments of one type or another. One present concern of free world media representatives is the continued drive by elements of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) for a “new information order” of international scope which stands to ”control” rather than “improve” communications. Another is the closing of La Prensa, a newspaper in Nicaragua with a long tradition of fighting for basic rights of the people. An lnter-American Press Association statement said a strike of employees and disagreement with owners forced closure, but asserted that the “principal cause is the political and revolutionary atmosphere.” ‘ George Beebe of Miami, President of IAPA, reported that most of the La Prensa stockholders have reaffirmed their intention to renew publication at a new location, “We hope their efforts will not be obstructed by a mistaken revolutionary fervor,” he declared. Beebe said in a recent address that the UNESCO drive for international standards for the media threatens the whole concept of freedom of the press. “We agree that the present information system needs better balance.” he stated, “but we can’t accept the radical information format proposed by our adversaries,” Arch Madsen of Salt Lake City, a vice chairman of the World Press Freedom Committee, said the degree of press freedom or control varies country to country, but less than 20 percent of the total world population enjoys the liberty, to which Americans are accustomed, of publishing facts and opinions without interference from government or private groups, Eleven countries in Africa don’t even have newspapers, he noted. Rep. Robert E. Bauman, R-Md., took occasion in Congress to decry the closing of La Prensa and to report that the ”Nicaraguan Sandinista communist govemment” has embraced the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the holding of U.S. hostages by the Iranians. The deterioration of American influence in that country, so close to home, is another story. but with implications involving press freedom also, It’s a distressing development, as is our decline in prestige elsewhere around the globe. We need to regain that influence by rebuilding our military power and strengthening foreign policy plus diplomatic stature and resolve. We took a step backward, especially in Latin American influence, when we hauled down our flag at Panama. It’s essential in upgrading our stature and effectiveness – as well as in promoting freedom of the press – to keep the flag flying at all our strategic ases, including Guantanamo and Puerto Rico. A free, responsible press is basic to other freedoms and human rights. Newsmen become mere puppets of government when they have no liberty to report the truth and express opinions. As George Beebe said in his speech: “It’s well to remember that it is not the people who want a controlled media; it’s the despots who rule those people.”‘