FOR students like Caitlin Paige C. Tejam and Roe Niña Emnace Cañedo, press freedom is not just a concept discussed in classrooms or during Press Freedom Month.
It is something they encounter every day—in the stories they read, the posts they scroll through and, for one of them, in the stories she hopes to write.
Tejam, a student of St. Cecilia’s College-Cebu Inc., sees press freedom as the ability of journalists to tell people what is happening and present different sides of an issue.
For her, that freedom matters because people deserve access to information that can help them understand what is happening around them.
But having information at their fingertips does not always mean students have the right information.
With social media now part of many young people’s daily lives, Tejam said it can be difficult to tell which posts are trustworthy and which
are misleading.
“Some posts may look convincing even when they are not true,” she said.
That is why, she said, students should take time to check sources and compare information before believing or sharing what they see online.
For Cañedo, a Grade 8 student of Minglanilla Science High School, press freedom hits closer to home.
An aspiring student journalist, she sees it as an opportunity for young people like her to speak up, document what they see and share their perspectives.
“Press freedom means having the freedom to express your stand, especially as a student journalist,” Cañedo said.
For a young writer, the freedom to tell a story also means having the confidence that her voice can be heard.
She believes restrictions on journalists could prevent students and other members of the public from learning about issues that affect their communities.
The two students may see press freedom from different sides—one as a reader trying to make sense of a crowded online world, the other as a young writer hoping to become part of the conversation.
But their experiences meet at one point: freedom to access and share information comes with responsibility.
For students growing up in an age where a news report can appear beside a viral video, a rumor or a misleading post with just a swipe, knowing what to believe has become just as important as having the freedom to know.
And for young people finding their voices, press freedom gives them something more than information.
It gives them a chance to listen, question, speak—and, perhaps one day, tell stories of their own.