Map: 2013 World Press Freedom Index

Reporters sans frontières have released their latest Press Freedom Index, comparing “the attitudes and intentions of governments towards media freedom in the medium or long term.” Finland remains the most free, while at the bottom are Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea.

According to the report:

The Nordic countries have again demonstrated their ability to maintain an optimal environment for news providers. Finland (1er, 0), Netherlands (2nd, +1) and Norway (3rd, -2) have held on to the first three places. Canada (20th, -10) only just avoided dropping out of the top 20. Andorra (5th) and Liechtenstein (7th) have entered the index for the first time just behind the three leaders.

At the other end of the index, the same three countries as ever – Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea – occupy the last three places in the index. Kim Jong-un’s arrival at the head of the Hermit Kingdom has not in any way changed the regime’s absolute control of news and information. Eritrea (179th, 0), which was recently shaken by a brief mutiny by soldiers at the information ministry, continues to be a vast open prison for its people and lets journalists die in detention. Despite its reformist discourse, the Turkmen regime has not yielded an inch of its totalitarian control of the media.

For the second year running, the bottom three countries are immediately preceded by Syria (176th, 0), where a deadly information war is being waged, and Somalia (175th, -11), which has had a deadly year for journalists. Iran (174th, +1), China (173rd, +1), Vietnam (unchanged at 172nd), Cuba (171st, -4), Sudan (170th, 0) and Yemen (169th, +2) complete the list of the ten countries that respect media freedom least. Not content with imprisoning journalists and netizens, Iran also harasses the relatives of journalists, including the relatives of those who are abroad.

Comments

This map looks foolish. The black parts may have the government in control of the press, but the other ones are usually equally as bad! If you have a lot of “independent” media that at the very end turn out to be owned by the same few wealthy investors, where is the real independence?

This is already included in their calculations. That’s exactly why Italy has “noticeable problems” (Berlusconi & Co.)

As an example of what **I** think AllInOneHand means;

Why is the united states not represented by the colour black?
Surely their costly wars for heroin and world domination make them more than mere yellow.

Something about the nature of information and financial/political control and objectives.

See;
911, false flag, drones, WMD’s, Saddam Hussein, Dick Cheney, C.I.A, Major Drug Traffickers, opium poppies, Vietnam.

Not that those actions mean the U.S is the only ‘bad guy’  ;D

‘AmeriSoc’, one step closer!