(Freedom House/IFEX) – The following is a 27 April 2006 Freedom House press release: Press Under Threat in Key Asian, African countries, Study Finds Longer-Term Pattern of Decline Noted in Latin America and Former Soviet Union NEW YORK, April 27, 2006 – Press freedom suffered setbacks in a number of important countries in Asia and […]
(Freedom House/IFEX) – The following is a 27 April 2006 Freedom House press release:
Press Under Threat in Key Asian, African countries, Study Finds
Longer-Term Pattern of Decline Noted in Latin America and Former Soviet Union
NEW YORK, April 27, 2006 – Press freedom suffered setbacks in a number of important countries in Asia and Africa in 2005, including some that had previously registered improvements, according to a major study released today by Freedom House. The most significant declines occurred in Asia (East Timor, Nepal, the Philippines, and Thailand), Africa (Uganda, Botswana, and Ethiopia), and the former Soviet Union (Russia and Uzbekistan).
The study, “Freedom of the Press 2006: A Global Survey of Media Independence,” showed continued volatility in Africa, as well as a continuation of a longer-term pattern of decline in press freedom in Latin America and the former Soviet Union.
“These findings are a source of real concern,” declared Jennifer Windsor, Freedom House Executive Director. “We find particularly disturbing the deterioration in press freedom in countries in that had made overall democratic progress – including in press freedom – in the past. We need to remain vigilant in noting the erosion of press freedom in countries with democratically-elected governments,” she added.
Russia, which ranked 158th out of the 194 countries and territories assessed in the survey, saw further declines in 2005. “It’s ironic and sad,” Ms. Windsor said, “that a report that shows further decline of an already poor record is being released simultaneously with the twentieth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, an event which so significantly contributed to press freedom in the old Soviet Union.” She urged that the constraints on press freedom in Russia be addressed by the U.S. and other governments planning to attend the G-8 Summit scheduled for mid-July in St. Petersburg.
The report, released in advance of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, did find some improvements in a number of countries in Africa, such as Kenya, Mauritania, and Liberia, as well as in Egypt, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan.
A complete charts and tables package including a global table, regional tables, and charts and graphs, as well as the survey methodology and detailed country narrative drafts, are available online.
The survey, first launched in 1980, assesses the degree of print, broadcast, and Internet freedom in every country in the world. It assigns each country a numerical score from 0 to 100 that determines a category rating of Free, Partly Free, or Not Free. Ratings are determined by examining three broad categories: the legal environment in which media operate, political influences on reporting and access to information, and economic pressures on content and the dissemination of news. The survey, which analyzes events during the 2005 calendar year, bases its ratings not only on government actions and policies but also on the behavior of the press itself in testing boundaries, even in restrictive environments.
Global Trends
Out of the 194 countries and territories examined, 73 (38 percent) were rated Free, while 54 (28 percent) were rated Partly Free and 67 (34 percent) were rated Not Free.
In terms of population, 17 percent of the world’s inhabitants live in countries that enjoy a Free press, while 40 percent have a Partly Free press and 43 percent have a Not Free press. The numbers show a decline in the number of people living in Free media environments, but also a decline in those living in Not Free conditions, indicating that more countries are in the “grey zone” of partial media freedom.
According to the 2006 survey, two countries improved in category while two declined. On the positive side, two African countries, Kenya and Mauritania, improved from Not Free to Partly Free. Showing declines from Free to Partly Free status were Botswana and East Timor.
In a key finding, the survey showed a pattern of continued decline in media freedom in Latin America and the Caribbean over the past fifteen years. The number of Free countries dropped from 23 in 1990 to 17 in 2005, the most significant decline for any region. Another region to undergo a notable decline was the former Soviet Union, which showed an increase of Not Free countries from 7 in 1995 to 10 in 2005.
“The movement in these two regions is deplorable,” Ms. Windsor said. She expressed particular concern about the trend in Latin America. “This may not be a crisis situation, but the drift is clear, and unsettling,” she said. “It is time for democrats in the hemisphere, including the Organization of American States, to begin speaking out and identifying the causes of the problem and the political leaders who are responsible for the decline.”
Modest gains were registered by several countries in the Middle East and North Africa, most notably Egypt, where internet and satellite television have expanded access to information, and where journalists are pushing the envelope of a slightly more tolerant political environment. However, the vast majority of countries in the region (84%) remain in the Not Free category.
Karin Karlekar, managing editor of the press freedom survey, noted that while the improvements in Egypt and several other Middle Eastern countries were encouraging, little credit should be given to government policies. “These improvements are largely due to the impact of new media, including the Internet and pan-Arab satellite television,” she said, “as well as to the courage of individual journalists and editors and their increasing willingness to push the boundaries.”
The full report is available at http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=70&release=356
