Press freedom leads to happiness and environmental quality
Freedom of the press is viewed by many as a cornerstone of
democracy. But can it actually help improve people’s lives and
make them happy? Researchers at the University of Missouri have
found that citizens of countries with press freedom tend to be
much happier than citizens of countries without free presses.
Edson Tandoc, Jr., a doctoral student in the MU School of
Journalism, says that press freedom directly predicts life
satisfaction across the world. “We already know that having
reliable, objective news sources can benefit democracy, but in
this study, we found that press freedom also benefits
communities by helping improve the overall quality of life of
citizens and, in the process, by also making them happier,”
Tandoc said. “People enjoy having an element of choice about
where they get their news. Citizens of countries without a free
press are forced to rely on the government for information, when
what people really want is diversity in content