C. Policies and structures

14. Certain problems in this regard arise specifically from media policies and structures: for example, the unjust exclusion of some groups and classes from access to the means of communication, the systematic abridgement of the fundamental right to information which is practiced in some places, the widespread domination of media by economic, social, and political elites.

These things are contrary to the principal purposes, and indeed to the very nature, of the media, whose proper and essential social role consists in contributing to the realization of the human right to information, promoting justice in the pursuit of the common good, and assisting individuals, groups, and peoples in their search for truth. The media carry out these crucial tasks when they foster the exchange of ideas and information among all classes and sectors of society and offer to all responsible voices opportunities to be heard.