Freedom of the media declines worldwide, report says

[bemildred]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- "Global declines in press freedom" persisted last year, with setbacks highlighted in Israel, Italy, Taiwan, Hong Kong and elsewhere across the world, an annual survey said Friday.

Freedom House, a nongovernmental organization that supports democracy and freedom of the media, said in its annual press freedom survey that "negative trends" outweighed "positive movements in every region, particularly in the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and North Africa."

"This marked the seventh straight year of overall deterioration. Improvements in a small number of countries -- including bright spots in parts of South Asia and Africa -- were overshadowed by a continued, relentless assault on independent news media by a wide range of actions, in both authoritarian states and countries with very open media environments."

Israel -- once the only country to be consistently rated free by the group in the Middle East and North Africa -- was ranked as "partly free" because of the Gaza conflict.




Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/05/01/press.freedom/

[Joe Bacon]

1. This report comes from CNN

:rofl:

[shadowknows69]

8. Irony knows no bounds

[pscot]

2. No restrictions on press freedom here

No need to muzzle sheep.

[RedCloud]

5. Well stated!

Indeed.

[ronnie624]

3. Freedom of the Press 2009 Survey Release

<http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=470>

I wonder if they examine the consolidation of media ownership. There's more to the issue of press freedom than oppression by state power.

I notice Venezuela is ranked as "not free", which makes me also wonder how seriously this report can be taken.

[SpiralHawk]

4. "Smirk" - Corporate Media

eom

[ronnie624]

6. Exactly.

The "freedom" of big corporations to present elite commentary to the exclusion of all else isn't really press freedom, in my opinion.

[AlphaCentauri]

7. Advertisement is what dictate what is news and whats not n/t