Freedom of the Press

Another interesting article from WorldPress.org today. Reporters Without Borders puts out an annual index ranking the freedom of the press in a variety of countries. This year's version was the 4th annual and listed 167 countries. To probably no one's surprise, North Korea won the honours of being the country without a privately-owned press and no freedom of speech. North Korea isn't alone, though. Turkmenistan and Eritrea came in a close second and third.

"Journalists working for the “official” media in these countries are little more than mouthpieces for government propaganda. Anyone out of step is harshly dealt with: one word too many, any commentary that deviates from the official party line, a misspelled name — and the author may be thrown in prison or incur the wrath of those in power. Harassment, psychological pressure, intimidation and 24-hour surveillance are routine."

The article states that East Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East feature the countries that are among the lowest ranked. On the other side of the spectrum, some Latin American and African countries are doing a much better job: Benin 25th, Namibia 25th, El Salvador 28th, Cape Verde 29th, Mauritius 34th, Mali 37th, Costa Rica 41st and Bolivia 45th.

Check out the article for more details. You can also find a complete list of the rankings here.

My country, Canada, was ranked 21st. That puts it in a tie with Lithuania. The reason given: "Canada (21st) also dropped several places due to decisions that weakened source confidentiality, turning some journalists into “court auxiliaries.” Interesting.