Press Freedom

By: Victoria

The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking published by the Reporters Without Borders. They measure the level of freedom the press has on reporting information. What may surprise you is that the United States was actually only ranked 41 out of 180 countries in 2016. The Reporters Without Borders attributes this to the U.S. government’s “war on whistleblowers” (as cited in Wagner para. 3), with the most famous example of Edward Snowden having to seek asylum in Russia. Finland finds itself at the top of the list, while Eritrea is considered to have the worst press freedom in the world.

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Freedom House finds that only 13% of the world has free press; where a journalist’s safety isn’t threatened, and there is minimal state intervention in the press (Dunham para. 2).

On the flipside, 46 percent of people live in countries where they do not enjoy free press (Dunham para. 3). For instance, in Egypt, where almost all their media outlets are pro-government, few journalists may dare to cross the line or even criticize the government in their writing (Dunham para. 10). Furthermore, Syria is one of the most dangerous places for journalists, where at least 14 were killed in the past year (Dunham para. 12).

In the top-ranked countries, the media as a fourth estate is generally considered what is important for a democracy (Gill para. 1). This is where the media can, as Gill’s puts it “to be the people’s watchdog” (Gill para. 6).

While many agree that media freedom is better than having none at all, the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack left people wondering if too much a good thing may be detrimental after all. The Spanish interior minister discussed the need to “strike a balance between freedom and security” (as cited in Dunham para. 17), but was criticized by groups that advocated for free expression (Dunham para. 17).

This particular media issue is definitely a rather controversial one and best left for each country’s governments and most definitely along with their people to decide which they value more. 

Works Cited

Dunham, Jennifer. “Press Freedom in 2015: The Battle for the Dominant Message.” Freedom House, n.d., https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/freedom-press-2016. Accessed 14 Nov. 2016

Gill, Kathy. “What Is The Fourth Estate.” US Politics About.com, 23 Mar. 2016, http://uspolitics.about.com/od/politicaljunkies/a/fourth_estate.htm. Accessed 14 Nov. 2016.

Wagner, Laura. “U.S. Ranks 41st In Press Freedom Index Thanks To 'War On Whistleblowers'.” National Public Radio, 20 Apr. 2016, http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/20/475017281/u-s-ranks-41st-in-press-freedom-index-thanks-to-war-on-whistleblowers?refresh=true. Accessed 14 Nov. 2016.

“2016 World Press Freedom Index.” Reporters Without Borders, 2016, https://rsf.org/en/ranking#. Accessed 14 Nov. 2016.