Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am primarily a religious leader. And yet my work has not been limited to the field of religion. I have a tremendous interest in the media. Since 1975, I have created many newspapers and publishing enterprises in different parts of the world.

The Promise of the Media

The question arises: Why should a religious leader expend so much effort and resources in media enterprises? My reason is quite simple. It is because I recognize the power of the media.

The latter half of the twentieth Century is an age dominated by communication. The electronic and print media are the most powerful and influential means of communication the world has ever known.

In a world of conflict and differing ideologies, the media play a large role in determining whether we live in peace or war. My ultimate goal and desire is to achieve lasting world peace – a peace based upon a system of true values.

Self-Government

In spite of the media's great power, in contrast to the great majority of professions in the world, most free nations have very few laws governing the conduct of the media.

Given this situation, when one considers the tremendous power wielded by the free press, it is clear that media professionals must continuously exercise their own powers of self-examination.

WMA was created as a forum for that self-examination. Another purpose is to promote free press wherever freedom of expression does not exist and to promote responsible use of the media where the free press is already established.

The Gift of Freedom

Freedom is one of the most precious gifts from God to man. Man is created to be free, and also to be responsible for how he uses his freedom. To use freedom properly requires self-discipline and self-control, based on a fundamental understanding of right and wrong.

The first responsibility of a human being is to exercise freedom to preserve our God-given value. In order to do this we must live in accord with basic moral principles given by God.

The Responsibilities of Freedom

America is a nation which has put a high value on individual liberties. Americans, and anyone living in America, may worship as they wish, assemble at will and print or speak just about anything.

At the same time, the American Founding Fathers stressed the concept of self-government. In America today, we find an abundance of freedom, but a shortage of self-government.

The Responsibilities of a Free Media

Certainly the media must be free, and must be self-governing. And a self-governing media must also be a moral media. What do we mean by a moral media?

A moral media must their freedom to protect, preserve and promote God-given human rights and dignity.

The preservation of human rights and human dignity must be the standard of all ethics and morality.

A Moral Media

Therefore, the media must stand at the very forefront in the defense of human dignity and freedom and the crusade against all forms of injustice.

Furthermore, in the service of morality, the media must oppose corruption and racism and vindicate the unjustly accused.

A moral media must lead the fight against drug abuse, pornography and many other destructive vices of our society. Thus the media must become the conscience of society.

A Changing World

At this year's conference, for the first time, we have a delegation of journalists from the Soviet Union and also from the People's Republic of China.

The communist world is rapidly changing. I encourage the new policies of glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union, and the reforms being enacted in China.

The media of both countries are playing a leading role in these changes. Both the democratic and communist worlds are searching for solutions to the problems of corruption, greed and exploitation.

As I see it, there are fundamental problems with both societies. They are both excluding God from their search for solutions.

The forsaking of God is the most serious problem of this century. When you forsake God, either in the name of totalitarianism or atheistic secularism, the result will be the same self-destruction. Both East and West are struggling with this fundamental question.

The World Media Association

Therefore, I founded this important organization also to promote the spirit of truth so that all media professionals can become uncompromising champions of truth.

We have organized numerous fact-finding tours with media professionals all over the world. These tours are searched for truth, giving journalists an opportunity to experience the world firsthand.

As a very good old saying goes, “Seeing is believing.” Journalists must always have their hands on the pulse of the world in order to report accurately.

The work which we will undertake in these next few days is important – an examination of the performance of free and moral media.