11 May 2005

FREEDOM HOUSE RELEASES GLOBAL PRESS FREEDOM SURVEY


Freedom House has released its annual global survey of press freedom, noting that while important gains were made in key countries, setbacks occurred in established democracies, including in the United States.

"Freedom of the Press 2005: A Global Survey of Media Independence" rates 194 countries and territories according to an assessment of the legal environment in which media operate, political influences on reporting and access to information, and economic pressures on content and the dissemination of news.

Thirty-nine per cent (75) were rated Free, while 35 per cent (69) were rated Not Free. Twenty-six per cent (50) were rated Partly Free.

Five countries improved in their ratings while two declined. Improvements took place in countries where new democratic openings have been achieved or are burgeoning, such as in Ukraine and Lebanon. Several countries in the Middle East showed positive trends. In addition to Ukraine and Lebanon, Guatemala and Guinea-Bissau moved from Not Free to Partly Free, while Namibia moved from Partly Free to Free. Only two countries - Pakistan and Kenya - registered a negative category shift in 2004, moving from Partly Free to Not Free.

The United States' rating declined due to a number of legal cases in which prosecutors sought to compel journalists to reveal sources or turn over notes or other material they had gathered in the course of investigations, notes Freedom House.

Additionally, doubts concerning official influence over media content emerged with the disclosures that several political commentators received grants from federal agencies, and that the Bush administration had significantly increased the practice of distributing government-produced news segments.
The five worst rated countries in 2004 were Burma, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, and Turkmenistan. In these states, independent media are either nonexistent or barely able to operate, the role of the press is reduced to serving as a mouthpiece for the ruling regime, and citizens' access to unbiased information is severely limited.
Read the report here: http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/pressurvey.htm



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Also from the Communiqué, 11 May 2005

TUNISIA: SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS REMAIN, SAY WATCHDOGS 11 May 2005 PHILIPPINES: JOURNALIST MURDERED 11 May 2005 NEPAL: IFEX MEMBERS DECRY CONTINUING CRISIS 11 May 2005 DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: JED LAUNCHES TRANSPARENCY CAMPAIGN 11 May 2005 COLOMBIA: SELF-CENSORSHIP, IMPUNITY PERVASIVE 11 May 2005 ERITREA: TAKE ACTION! ERITREA: SIGN A PETITION TO SUPPORT JAILED JOURNALISTS 11 May 2005 INTERNATIONAL: IFJ REPORT SLAMS WAR ON TERRORISM 11 May 2005 INTERNATIONAL: Media Assistance Groups Form Global Partnership 11 May 2005 INTERNATIONAL: ICFJ TO HOLD FREE EXPRESSION WORKSHOPS IN BRAZIL, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 11 May 2005

International

A "to do" list for internet freedom 16 May 2012 Human rights council urged to recognise role of free expression in protecting rights of LGBT persons 7 March 2012 ARTICLE 19 welcomes Internet free expression debate 1 March 2012 RSF concerned about Google's new country-redirect service on Blogger 16 February 2012 Twitter urged not to cooperate with censors 27 January 2012


 
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