Press Freedom Index 2013

[Minskaya]

Reporters Without Borders has issued its annual Press Freedom Index for 2013. 179 countries worldwide are ranked.

Where does your country rank? Did it move up or down? For me...

Israel (citizenship) fell 20 places from #92 to #112.
Belarus (citizenship - paternal) gained 11 places from #168 to #157
Ukraine (citizenship - maternal) fell 10 places from #116 to #126
United States (visa resident) gained 15 places from #47 to #32

Reporters Without Borders: PRESS FREEDOM INDEX 2013

[Bigfella]

Four nations & you still can't crack the top 30 Minnie. Damn!

Australia gained a mighty 4 places to 26. Given the domination of our metro dailies by the Murdoch Press that says something depressing about the remaining 150 nations. I guess not shooting & imprisoning journos counts for a fair bit.

[Minskaya]

Four nations & you still can't crack the top 30 Minnie. Damn!

It's a bit worse actually. I also have a Russian passport courtesy of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (resident).

The Russian Federation fell six places from #142 to #148

[Doktor]

No surprises, we lost 22 places.

In total we are 70 places down since this government took the country.

[Bigfella]

No surprises, we lost 22 places.

In total we are 70 places down since this government took the country.

On the upside, you are still sticking it to Venezuela & Sth Sudan!

[Doktor]

On the upside, you are still sticking it to Venezuela & Sth Sudan!

I am fairly surprised how good Bosnia fares. For the others around here, it looks about right, from what I know.

Venezuela, Iran and South Sudan should start worrying, we will reach them, give us couple of years.

What's worth mentioning is that the blame for the situation is split between the government and some of the journalists. Can't see how this will unfold for better any time soon.

[Bigfella]

I am fairly surprised how good Bosnia fares. For the others around here, it looks about right, from what I know.

Venezuela, Iran and South Sudan should start worrying, we will reach them, give us couple of years.

What's worth mentioning is that the blame for the situation is split between the government and some of the journalists. Can't see how this will unfold for better any time soon.

If you are looking for the silver lining, given the company you are keeping up is more likely than down. :red:

[Doktor]

If you are looking for the silver lining, given the company you are keeping up is more likely than down. :red:

I am eternal minority and opposition.

[Mihais]

So the mighty new state of Kosovo is 85th.I wonder if they counted the KFOR and EULEX journos writing for their respective military magazines.

We(42nd),on the other side,are about to catch Papua New Guinea and Botswana,but Niger and Trinidad Tobago are coming strong from behind.

I haven't read a really good article,either investigation journalism or analysis in quite a while.At least from mainstream media.Freelancers and/or bloggers are getting quite good,meanwhile.

[Julie]

Freedom of the press in the United States has plunged during the Obama administration, according to the 2014 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index.

"The U.S. under President Obama, who once promised to run the 'most transparent' administration in the country's history, fell from 32nd to 46th in the 2014 World Press Freedom Index, a drop of 13 slots," The Washington Times reports.

The report reviews the state of media freedoms in 180 countries. Major declines occurred in the United States, the Central African Republic, and Guatemala, while marked improvements took place in Ecuador, Bolivia, and South Africa, according to the index compiled by the press advocacy group.

Finland, the Netherlands, and Norway continue to lead the index for press freedoms and government openness, while Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea "continue to be the biggest information black holes, again occupying the last three positions." Syria also ranked near the bottom.

The rating was based on seven criteria: the level of abuses, the extent of pluralism, media independence, the environment and self-censorship, the legislative framework, transparency, and infrastructure, according to Reporters Without Borders Secretary-General Christophe Deloire.

"It makes governments face their responsibilities by providing civil society with an objective measure, and provides international bodies with a good governance indicator to guide their decisions," Deloire said in a statement.

The report cited the handling of three events as major contributors to the declining rating for reporter freedoms the United States, according to The Washington Times.

• Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's disclosure of top secret information related to U.S. spying programs;

• Army Pvt. Bradley Manning's leak of classified documents to WikiLeaks;

• The Justice Department's handling of a probe of The Associated Press and other media organizations suspected of receiving leaked data.

Freedom of the press is increasingly under siege as governments around the globe are targeting journalists — to get to their sources and those people who leak sensitive information, according to the report.

Report: US Press Freedom Declines Under Obama

[Oracle]

India at # 140. why isn't it surprising?

[Solastalgia]

Reporters Without Borders is funded by The National Endowment for Democracy. If you know anything about NED, you'd understand why this is a somewhat shady backer to have. International press freedom organizations should not have any funding from any government, let a lone an organization that has been organized coups at the behest of the US state dept.

It's very worrisome when an international press freedom org gets funding from govt sources.

They're also funded by a few other organizations that would cause concern in terms of bias (International Republican Institute, George Soro's Open Society Foundation, & Center for Free Cuba). The latter being brought up in accusations against RSF's coverage of Cuba, which can be found here: Reporters Without Borders Unmasked » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

The Council on Hemospheric Affairs, as well as many others, have criticized Reporters Without Borders for their bias in countries such as Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and others. Here's a good two-part piece on their Press Freedom Index bias:

The Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index: Independent Assessment or EU Propaganda? (Part I)

The Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index: Independent Assessment or EU Propaganda? (Part II)

[lemontree]

India at # 140. why isn't it surprising?

The method of assessment appears faulty.
I take the results with a sack full of salt.

[Doktor]

The method of assessment appears faulty.
I take the results with a sack full of salt.

Captain,

They are not perfect, but judging from what I read about us and the neighbors, they are balanced and the ranks are proper.

[Solastalgia]

They are not perfect, but judging from what I read about us and the neighbors, they are balanced and the ranks are proper.

Maybe because Macedonia has good relations with the US. Most of the bias they've been charged with is about countries that the US wants regime change in (ie Cuba).

Before you bank on that index being balanced and proper, I recommend reading the World Politics Review articles:

The Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index: Independent Assessment or EU Propaganda? (Part I)

The Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index: Independent Assessment or EU Propaganda? (Part II)