Think You’re Free?
America Drops To 49th In World Press Freedom Rankings (WORLD MAP) Frank Minero
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/02/16/think-youre-free-america-drops-to-49th-in-world-press-freedom-rankings-world-map/
Is the United States the land of the free? According to Reporters Without Borders (RFB), 48 are countries doing a better job of providing citizens with a free press. The United States slipped three spots to number 49 on the list in 2015.
Reporters Without Borders is a free press watchdog operating internationally since 1995. They release an annual report ranking 180 countries according to a number of factors:
“The Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index ranks the performance of 180 countries according to a range of criteria that include media pluralism and independence, respect for the safety and freedom of journalists, and the legislative, institutional and infrastructural environment in which the media operate.”
While the United States has never topped the RFB’s index, it has fared better in the past. As recently as 2010, the U.S. ranked number 20 on the list. RFB cites three primary reasons for the low ranking. The first involves judicial harassment of New York Times reporter James Risen:
“2014 was marked by judicial harassment of New York Times investigative reporter James Risen in connection with the trial of Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer charged under the Espionage Act with giving him classified information. US journalists are still not protected by a federal shield law that would guarantee their right not to name their sources or reveal other confidential information about their work.”
RFB also cites arbitrary arrests of journalists covering the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri:
“Meanwhile, at least 15 journalists were arbitrarily arrested during clashes between police and demonstrators protesting against black teenager Michael Brown’s fatal shooting by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.”
A continuing blemish for the United States is its behavior regarding Wikileaks. The U.S. has continued its war on Wikileaks for doing nothing more than exercising its right to a free press as guaranteed by the First Amendment,
“The NSA’s surveillance, the US government’s attempts to bring judicial proceedings against WikiLeaks and the criminalization of the website’s publisher, Julian Assange, constitute a violation of freedom of information,” Reporters Without Borders said.
Sadly, many of the United States’ closest allies rank even lower on the list. Allies such as Saudi Arabia (164), Bahrain (163), Egypt (158), the UAE (120), and Israel (101) all rank poorly.
While one might expect Israel to offer broader press freedom, their rankings have dropped dramatically since 2009. In 2014, 15 journalists and media workers were killed while covering Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. Israel banned unfavorable content on Israeli TV. Finally, Palestinian journalists in the West Bank were deliberately pelted by rubber bullets and tear gas.
The 2015 World Press Freedom Rankings, full country index,
America Drops To 49th In World Press Freedom Rankings (WORLD MAP) Frank Minero
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/02/16/think-youre-free-america-drops-to-49th-in-world-press-freedom-rankings-world-map/
Is the United States the land of the free? According to Reporters Without Borders (RFB), 48 are countries doing a better job of providing citizens with a free press. The United States slipped three spots to number 49 on the list in 2015.
Reporters Without Borders is a free press watchdog operating internationally since 1995. They release an annual report ranking 180 countries according to a number of factors:
“The Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index ranks the performance of 180 countries according to a range of criteria that include media pluralism and independence, respect for the safety and freedom of journalists, and the legislative, institutional and infrastructural environment in which the media operate.”
While the United States has never topped the RFB’s index, it has fared better in the past. As recently as 2010, the U.S. ranked number 20 on the list. RFB cites three primary reasons for the low ranking. The first involves judicial harassment of New York Times reporter James Risen:
“2014 was marked by judicial harassment of New York Times investigative reporter James Risen in connection with the trial of Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer charged under the Espionage Act with giving him classified information. US journalists are still not protected by a federal shield law that would guarantee their right not to name their sources or reveal other confidential information about their work.”
RFB also cites arbitrary arrests of journalists covering the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri:
“Meanwhile, at least 15 journalists were arbitrarily arrested during clashes between police and demonstrators protesting against black teenager Michael Brown’s fatal shooting by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.”
A continuing blemish for the United States is its behavior regarding Wikileaks. The U.S. has continued its war on Wikileaks for doing nothing more than exercising its right to a free press as guaranteed by the First Amendment,
“The NSA’s surveillance, the US government’s attempts to bring judicial proceedings against WikiLeaks and the criminalization of the website’s publisher, Julian Assange, constitute a violation of freedom of information,” Reporters Without Borders said.
Sadly, many of the United States’ closest allies rank even lower on the list. Allies such as Saudi Arabia (164), Bahrain (163), Egypt (158), the UAE (120), and Israel (101) all rank poorly.
While one might expect Israel to offer broader press freedom, their rankings have dropped dramatically since 2009. In 2014, 15 journalists and media workers were killed while covering Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. Israel banned unfavorable content on Israeli TV. Finally, Palestinian journalists in the West Bank were deliberately pelted by rubber bullets and tear gas.
The 2015 World Press Freedom Rankings, full country index,
Share / Embedranking 2015 Ranking of every country in 2015 according to the Reporters Without Borders index.
- 7.52#1 Finland
- 7.75#2 Norway
- 8.24#3 Denmark
- 9.22#4 Netherlands
- 9.47#5 Sweden
- 10.06#6 New Zealand
- 10.85#7 Austria
- 10.99#8 Canada
- 11.18#9 Jamaica
- 11.19#10 Estonia
- 11.2#11 Ireland
- 11.47#12 Germany
- 11.62#13 Czech Republic
- 11.66#14 Slovakia
- 11.98#15 Belgium
- 12.26#16 Costa Rica
- 12.5#17 Namibia
- 12.71#18 Poland
- 13.61#19 Luxembourg
- 13.85#20 Switzerland
- 13.87#21 Iceland
- 15.5#22 Ghana
- 15.94#23 Uruguay
- 16.52#24 Cyprus
- 17.03#25 Australia
- 17.11#26 Portugal
- 17.67#27 Liechtenstein
- 18.12#28 Latvia
- 18.2#29 Suriname
- 18.54#30 Belize
- 18.8#31 Lithuania
- 19.87#32 Andorra
- 19.95#33 Spain
- 20#34 United Kingdom
- 20.55#35 Slovenia
- 20.69#36 Cape Verde
- 21.02#37 Eastern Caribbean
- 21.15#38 France
- 22.06#39 South Africa
- 22.32#40 Samoa
- 22.39#41 Trinidad and Tobago
- 22.91#42 Botswana
- 23#43 Chile
- 23.37#44 Tonga
- 23.66#45 El Salvador
- 23.79#46 Burkina Faso
- 23.85#47 Niger
- 24.16#48 Malta
- 24.41#49 United States
- 24.52#50 Comoros
- 24.83#51 Taiwan
- 24.9#52 Romania
- 25.08#53 Haiti
- 25.25#54 Mongolia
- 25.27#55 Mauritania
- 25.87#56 Papua New Guinea
- 26.11#57 Argentina
- 26.12#58 Croatia
- 26.41#59 Malawi
- 26.55#60 Republic of Korea
- 26.95#61 Japan
- 27.21#62 Guyana
- 27.31#63 Dominican Republic
- 27.43#64 Madagascar
- 27.44#65 Hungary
- 27.51#66 Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 27.66#67 Serbia
- 27.69#68 Mauritius
- 27.7#69 Georgia
- 27.76#70 Hong Kong
- 27.77#71 Senegal
- 27.85#72 Republic of Moldova
- 27.94#73 Italy
- 27.94#74 Nicaragua
- 28.09#75 United Republic Of Tanzania
- 28.33#76 Cyprus North
- 28.36#77 Lesotho
- 28.43#78 Armenia
- 28.47#79 Sierra Leone
- 28.5#80 Togo
- 28.7#81 Guinea-Bissau
- 28.77#82 Albania
- 28.98#83 Panama
- 29.24#84 Benin
- 29.98#85 Mozambique
- 30.45#86 Côte d'Ivoire
- 30.63#87 Kosovo
- 30.69#88 Kyrgyzstan
- 30.78#89 Liberia
- 30.84#90 Kuwait
- 31.01#91 Greece
- 31.21#92 Peru
- 31.28#93 Fiji
- 31.29#94 Bolivia
- 31.38#95 Gabon
- 31.55#96 Seychelles
- 31.65#97 Uganda
- 31.81#98 Lebanon
- 31.93#99 Brazil
- 32.07#100 Kenya
- 32.09#101 Israel
- 32.56#102 Guinea
- 32.63#103 Timor-Leste
- 32.65#104 Bhutan
- 32.71#105 Nepal
- 32.91#106 Bulgaria
- 33#107 Republic of the Congo
- 33.65#108 Ecuador
- 33.74#109 Paraguay
- 33.84#110 Central African
- 34.09#111 Nigeria
- 34.32#112 Maldives
- 34.35#113 Zambia
- 34.63#114 Montenegro
- 35.35#115 Qatar
- 36.19#116 Tajikistan
- 36.26#117 Macedonia
- 36.33#118 Mali
- 36.63#119 Algeria
- 36.73#120 United Arab Emirates
- 36.76#121 Brunei Darussalam
- 37.44#122 Afghanistan
- 37.84#123 Angola
- 37.92#124 Guatemala
- 38.04#125 South Sudan
- 38.68#126 Tunisia
- 38.83#127 Oman
- 39.08#128 Colombia
- 39.1#129 Ukraine
- 39.19#130 Morocco
- 39.19#131 Zimbabwe
- 39.27#132 Honduras
- 39.63#133 Cameroon
- 40.07#134 Thailand
- 40.17#135 Chad
- 40.49#136 India
- 40.61#137 Venezuela
- 40.75#138 Indonesia
- 40.99#139 Cambodia
- 41.01#140 Palestine
- 41.19#141 Philippines
- 41.83#142 Ethiopia
- 42.07#143 Jordan
- 42.08#144 Myanmar
- 42.93#145 Burundi
- 42.95#146 Bangladesh
- 43.29#147 Malaysia
- 43.69#148 Mexico
- 44.16#149 Turkey
- 44.31#150 Democratic Republic Of The Congo
- 44.5#151 Gambia
- 44.97#152 Russian Federation
- 45.87#153 Singapore
- 45.99#154 Libya
- 47.28#155 Swaziland
- 47.76#156 Iraq
- 47.98#157 Belarus
- 50.17#158 Egypt
- 50.46#159 Pakistan
- 53.46#160 Kazakhstan
- 56.57#161 Rwanda
- 58.41#162 Azerbaijan
- 58.69#163 Bahrain
- 59.41#164 Saudi Arabia
- 60.28#165 Sri Lanka
- 61.14#166 Uzbekistan
- 66.23#167 Equatorial Guinea
- 66.36#168 Yemen
- 70.21#169 Cuba
- 71.04#170 Djibouti
- 71.25#171 Lao People's Democratic Republic
- 72.31#172 Somalia
- 72.32#173 Islamic Republic of Iran
- 72.34#174 Sudan
- 72.63#175 Vietnam
- 73.55#176 China
- 77.29#177 Syrian Arab Republic
- 80.83#178 Turkmenistan
- 83.25#179 Democratic People's Republic of Korea
- 84.86#180 Eritrea
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