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World Press Freedom Day: Press Freedom, Role of Journalists in a Democracy

Photo courtesy Oscar DeSoto.

Oscar DeSoto Date: May 3, 2006 Time: 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) View Webchat Transcript

Join the State Department's Oscar DeSoto on World Press Freedom Day for a webchat on the role of journalists in a democracy and the importance of free press. Independent and free journalists play a crucial role in checking the power of their governments. Even in a firmly established democratic society such as the United States, we need to constantly relearn the lesson that journalists are essential to ensure transparency and accountability and to promote good governance. DeSoto, who overseas U.S. government activities promoting democracy and human rights worldwide, will discuss the importance of a free press.

Guest Biography: Oscar De Soto, director of the State Department's Office for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy, provides foreign policy direction and programmatic coordination for U.S. government activities promoting democracy and human rights worldwide. He also oversees the Human Rights and Democracy Fund, an annual $147 million grant program to foster democracy and human rights initiatives.

De Soto is a career member of the U.S. Foreign Service whose assignments have included consul general in Perth, Australia, deputy political counselor at the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, and senior country officer for the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg at the State Department. He also served at the U.S. Kosovo Diplomatic Mission and as deputy director of the State Department’s Kosovo Crisis Task Force in Washington. De Soto holds bachelor's and master's degrees from George Mason University and received a master's degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.