Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post correspondent in Iran, recently received a guilty plea for “espionage” from a Revolutionary Court in Iran.

Freedom of the press is a right many Americans hold dear. After all, this right is guaranteed by the first amendment.

Other countries are not as lucky as we are. One news story that goes against the status quo could land a journalist in these countries in jail.

American journalists are tasked with the job of being government watchdogs. The American public seems to forget this sometimes.

When there’s nothing but bad news on the television, people automatically blame the media. People want journalists to seek the truth and report it, but not if it’s going to put a damper on their day.

I can’t tell you how many times people have told me that they’re going to be upset if the only things I cover are bad news. The sad reality is that there’s more bad news in the world than good news.

We can’t pick and choose what information we want to know. We’re given a precious thing that many other countries have to go without: freedom to express ourselves however we please. Shouldn’t we take full advantage of that?

American journalists are arrested on foreign soil all the time for trying to seek the truth and bring it to light. Instead of criticizing these individuals, we should be grateful for their service to this country and applaud them for exercising the rights granted to them as American citizens.