SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
57 Journalists Killed in 2010
Reporters being targeted by criminal gangs, study shows • Pakistan has been the deadliest country for journalists this year
Dec 30, 2010
Fifty-seven journalists worldwide have been killed this year, according to the media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, adding that fewer reporters were being killed in war zones and more were being targeted by criminals or traffickers.
The death toll was down 25% from 2009, when 76 journalists were killed. Last year's record number of deaths was so high because of a massacre in the Philippines in which more than two dozen journalists and their staff were gunned down.
In its annual report, the Paris-based group said organised criminal gangs and militias posed the biggest threat to journalists. "If governments do not make every effort to punish the murderers of journalists, they become their accomplices," Jean-Francois Julliard, the Reporters Without Borders secretary general, said.
Pakistan has been the deadliest country for reporters this year, with 11 killed. Seven journalists were killed in Mexico, seven in Iraq and four in the Philippines.
This month the Committee to Protect Journalists said 42 media workers have been killed worldwide in 2010.
The two groups have different criteria on what kind of reporters they include in their list and whether some reporters were targeted because of their profession, Julliard said.
Reporters Without Borders said this year has also seen a surge in abductions. Fifty-one reporters have been kidnapped in 2010, up from 33 in 2009, Reporters Without Borders said.
French TV journalists Herve Ghesquiere and Stephane Taponier and their three Afghan assistants have been held hostage in Afghanistan for more than a year.
"Journalists are seen less and less as outside observers," Julliard said. "Their neutrality and the nature of their work are no longer respected."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Fifty-seven journalists worldwide have been killed this year, according to the media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, adding that fewer reporters were being killed in war zones and more were being targeted by criminals or traffickers.
The death toll was down 25% from 2009, when 76 journalists were killed. Last year's record number of deaths was so high because of a massacre in the Philippines in which more than two dozen journalists and their staff were gunned down.
In its annual report, the Paris-based group said organised criminal gangs and militias posed the biggest threat to journalists. "If governments do not make every effort to punish the murderers of journalists, they become their accomplices," Jean-Francois Julliard, the Reporters Without Borders secretary general, said.
Pakistan has been the deadliest country for reporters this year, with 11 killed. Seven journalists were killed in Mexico, seven in Iraq and four in the Philippines.
This month the Committee to Protect Journalists said 42 media workers have been killed worldwide in 2010.
The two groups have different criteria on what kind of reporters they include in their list and whether some reporters were targeted because of their profession, Julliard said.
Reporters Without Borders said this year has also seen a surge in abductions. Fifty-one reporters have been kidnapped in 2010, up from 33 in 2009, Reporters Without Borders said.
French TV journalists Herve Ghesquiere and Stephane Taponier and their three Afghan assistants have been held hostage in Afghanistan for more than a year.
"Journalists are seen less and less as outside observers," Julliard said. "Their neutrality and the nature of their work are no longer respected."
Fifty-seven journalists worldwide have been killed this year, according to the media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, adding that fewer reporters were being killed in war zones and more were being targeted by criminals or traffickers.
The death toll was down 25% from 2009, when 76 journalists were killed. Last year's record number of deaths was so high because of a massacre in the Philippines in which more than two dozen journalists and their staff were gunned down.
In its annual report, the Paris-based group said organised criminal gangs and militias posed the biggest threat to journalists. "If governments do not make every effort to punish the murderers of journalists, they become their accomplices," Jean-Francois Julliard, the Reporters Without Borders secretary general, said.
Pakistan has been the deadliest country for reporters this year, with 11 killed. Seven journalists were killed in Mexico, seven in Iraq and four in the Philippines.
This month the Committee to Protect Journalists said 42 media workers have been killed worldwide in 2010.
The two groups have different criteria on what kind of reporters they include in their list and whether some reporters were targeted because of their profession, Julliard said.
Reporters Without Borders said this year has also seen a surge in abductions. Fifty-one reporters have been kidnapped in 2010, up from 33 in 2009, Reporters Without Borders said.
French TV journalists Herve Ghesquiere and Stephane Taponier and their three Afghan assistants have been held hostage in Afghanistan for more than a year.
"Journalists are seen less and less as outside observers," Julliard said. "Their neutrality and the nature of their work are no longer respected."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy