Global Decline of Press Freedom
by
Sally Ramage
5.5.2007
Thursday was World Press Freedom Day and a debate at Portcullis House,
Westminster commemorated the day. [See
London: World Press Freedom Day debate - Motion: 'World Media
Freedom is in Retreat'. Organizer: UK National Commission for UNESCO.
Location: Portcullis House. For more information: http://www.unesco.org.uk/World_Press_Freedom_Day_(3_May).htm]
The title of the Oxford style debate was "World Press Freedom Day: Are the world's
media becoming more free - or less free?”
The debate was very
professionally conducted and the parties well-informed. The audience voted for the motion, that world
media freedom is in retreat.
Freedom
of the press suffered serious setbacks around the world in 2006, according to a
new report from Freedom House. The annual Freedom
of the Press survey assesses the degree of print, broadcast, and
internet freedom in every country in the world, analyzing events the events and
developments of each calendar year. Ratings are determined on the basis of an
examination of three broad categories: 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. Under the legal
category, we assess the laws and regulations that could influence media content
as well as the government’s inclination to use these laws and legal
institutions to restrict the media’s ability to operate. The political category
encompasses a variety of issues, including editorial pressure by the government
or other actors; censorship and self-censorship; the ability of reporters to
cover the news; and the extralegal intimidation of and violence against
journalists.
Overall,
the report examined 195 countries and territories and found 38 percent were
rated Free, 30 percent were rated Partly Free, and 32 percent were rated Not
Free. Freedom House’s report released several critical tools to highlight data from its
annual survey of global press freedom, and to help explain the newest findings
in their historical context. The current edition of the survey, Freedom of the Press 2007, points to
improvements in several countries such as Italy, Nepal, Colombia, and Haiti;
however, it shows mixed trends in Africa, as well as a continuation of a
longer-term pattern of decline in press freedom in Asia, Latin America, and the
former Soviet.
Overall,
the report examined 195 countries and territories and found 38 percent were
rated Free, 30 percent were rated Partly Free, and 32 percent were rated Not
Free Union. A growing number of governments moved in 2006 to restrict internet
freedom by censoring, harassing, or shutting down sites that provide
alternative sources of news and commentary. The findings reflect a 10-year
trend of media freedom stagnation and, in some cases, outright decline in key countries
and regions. While press freedom made impressive gains during the 1980s and
early 1990s, that progress has stalled in recent years, following a broader
pattern of stagnation in political freedom that Freedom House has identified.
In terms of population, the survey found that only 18 percent of the
world’s inhabitants live in countries that enjoy a Free press, while 39 percent
have a Partly Free press and 43 percent have a Not Free press. The relatively
negative picture painted by these population figures is due to the impact of
two countries - China, with a Not Free rating, and India, with a Partly Free rating
- which together account for some two billion of the world’s six billion people.
The percentage of those enjoying Free media in 2006 improved slightly from
2005, while the percentage of people who live in countries with a Not Free
media environment remained steady. The overall global average score for press
freedom worsened slightly in 2006, continuing a five-year downward trend. The global averages for the legal and
political categories also worsened, with the legal category showing the largest
decline.
Along with the institutions of civil society, the press has been a
principal target of governments of Russia, Venezuela and Zimbabwe to neutralize or eliminate all potential sources of
political opposition, the report stated. During Putin’s tenure, the lively and
probing press that had emerged during the glasnost and post- Communist periods has been transformed into a
toothless sounding board for the opinions of
the leadership, the report stated. The methods used tend to be
legalistic: print or broadcast outlets are taken over by the state or by forces
aligned with the political leadership; license renewals are denied; journalists
are jailed or hit with heavy fines for libel or defamation. Russia, under
President Vladimir Putin, is the template for this phenomenon.
Valid reasons for curtailing press freedoms are Anti-terrorism and official secrets laws, the
criminalisation of speech that might incite terrorism, criminal
prosecution of journalists for disclosing classified information, surveillance
of communications without judicial authorisation, restrictions on access to
government data and stricter security classifications, are legal measures to
protect society in general.
As
well as the Press Freedom Report, the US
Commission on International Religious Freedom recently released its annual
report on worldwide religious freedom, finding for the first time since
Saddam Hussein was deposed, that
freedom of religious worship in Iraq is under severe threat. For the first
time, the new Iraqi government took action against reporters, with at least 30
journalists detained and four of them still held without charge at year's end,
the report said.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has established
a Watch List of countries where conditions do not rise to the statutory level
requiring CPC designation but which require close monitoring due to the nature
and extent of violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the
governments. Iraq has been added to the Commission’s
Watch List this year, joining Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, and Nigeria.
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