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
Journalists and advocates for free expression and information celebrated #WorldPressFreedomDay Friday. (Image: RSF)
On #WorldPressFreedomDay, a Reminder: Only 9% of Humanity Lives in Nations That Respect Reporters' Rights
"This situation is very worrying for journalists and above all for all those human beings who are being deprived of their right to information."
May 03, 2019
As the international community celebrated #WorldPressFreedomDay on Friday, a leading global nonprofit warned that only 9 percent of humanity lives in countries with good or satisfactory levels of press freedom.
Journalism advocacy group Reporters Sans Frontieres--also known as RSF, or Reporters Without Borders--highlighted the detail from its annual World Press Freedom Index, published last month. Based on the report's findings, the group produced a color-coded map that shows how each country on Earth generally regards free expression and information.
In honor of the United Nations-designated day dedicated to promoting journalism and reporters' rights across the globe, RSF explains in a new video and on its website that a full 91 percent of the world's population lives in countries coded orange for problematic, red for difficult, or black for very serious.
While sounding the alarm about a broad "climate of hostility" toward journalists, the video zooms in on a few countries that saw concerning developments last year--from Mexico and India to Poland, Hungary, and France.
"The situation has worsened even further in Saudi Arabia," the video explains, pointing to the gruesome murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year.
The video also spotlights the United States, where President Donald Trump's rhetoric continues to fuel attacks on reporters. It notes that "significantly, the United States has joined the ranks of problematic countries."
"None of humankind's big problems--whether global warming, corruption, or gender inequality--can be solved without information that is freely and independently reported and reliable, in other words, without quality journalism."
--Christophe Deloire, RSF
Overall, said RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire, "this situation is very worrying for journalists and above all for all those human beings who are being deprived of their right to information."
"None of humankind's big problems--whether global warming, corruption, or gender inequality--can be solved without information that is freely and independently reported and reliable, in other words, without quality journalism," he warned.
Deloire's comments came amid a flurry of demands from across the globe on Friday that elected officials and governments commit to safeguarding existing protections for journalists and building upon on them.
"Unfortunately, attacks, threats, harassment, and undue restrictions have become everyday events to journalists and media workers all over the world," Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a video shared on Twitter. She acknowledged that female reporters disproportionately face violence and threats.
"World Press Freedom Day is an opportunity to commit to actions that can promote more journalism and more transparency for our societies," she added. "I am convinced we can make the digital landscape a space of freedom, truth, and information."
The Committee to Protect Journalists marked the day by remembering the at least 1,340 journalists who have been killed because of their work since 1992. The American nonprofit, on its website, pointed out that at least 54 of those reporters were killed last year--an 88 percent increase from the previous year.
Advocacy groups also directed attention to journalists who have been jailed for doing their job, including Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. The pair remains imprisoned in Myanmar after investigating the massacre of Rohingya Muslims--for which U.N. observers concluded the nation's top military leaders should be investigated and prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
"Whether you are a journalist or not, this day concerns all of us because the truth belongs to all of us," tweeted Amnesty International secretary general Kumi Naidoo.
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.
As the international community celebrated #WorldPressFreedomDay on Friday, a leading global nonprofit warned that only 9 percent of humanity lives in countries with good or satisfactory levels of press freedom.
Journalism advocacy group Reporters Sans Frontieres--also known as RSF, or Reporters Without Borders--highlighted the detail from its annual World Press Freedom Index, published last month. Based on the report's findings, the group produced a color-coded map that shows how each country on Earth generally regards free expression and information.
In honor of the United Nations-designated day dedicated to promoting journalism and reporters' rights across the globe, RSF explains in a new video and on its website that a full 91 percent of the world's population lives in countries coded orange for problematic, red for difficult, or black for very serious.
While sounding the alarm about a broad "climate of hostility" toward journalists, the video zooms in on a few countries that saw concerning developments last year--from Mexico and India to Poland, Hungary, and France.
"The situation has worsened even further in Saudi Arabia," the video explains, pointing to the gruesome murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year.
The video also spotlights the United States, where President Donald Trump's rhetoric continues to fuel attacks on reporters. It notes that "significantly, the United States has joined the ranks of problematic countries."
"None of humankind's big problems--whether global warming, corruption, or gender inequality--can be solved without information that is freely and independently reported and reliable, in other words, without quality journalism."
--Christophe Deloire, RSF
Overall, said RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire, "this situation is very worrying for journalists and above all for all those human beings who are being deprived of their right to information."
"None of humankind's big problems--whether global warming, corruption, or gender inequality--can be solved without information that is freely and independently reported and reliable, in other words, without quality journalism," he warned.
Deloire's comments came amid a flurry of demands from across the globe on Friday that elected officials and governments commit to safeguarding existing protections for journalists and building upon on them.
"Unfortunately, attacks, threats, harassment, and undue restrictions have become everyday events to journalists and media workers all over the world," Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a video shared on Twitter. She acknowledged that female reporters disproportionately face violence and threats.
"World Press Freedom Day is an opportunity to commit to actions that can promote more journalism and more transparency for our societies," she added. "I am convinced we can make the digital landscape a space of freedom, truth, and information."
The Committee to Protect Journalists marked the day by remembering the at least 1,340 journalists who have been killed because of their work since 1992. The American nonprofit, on its website, pointed out that at least 54 of those reporters were killed last year--an 88 percent increase from the previous year.
Advocacy groups also directed attention to journalists who have been jailed for doing their job, including Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. The pair remains imprisoned in Myanmar after investigating the massacre of Rohingya Muslims--for which U.N. observers concluded the nation's top military leaders should be investigated and prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
"Whether you are a journalist or not, this day concerns all of us because the truth belongs to all of us," tweeted Amnesty International secretary general Kumi Naidoo.
As the international community celebrated #WorldPressFreedomDay on Friday, a leading global nonprofit warned that only 9 percent of humanity lives in countries with good or satisfactory levels of press freedom.
Journalism advocacy group Reporters Sans Frontieres--also known as RSF, or Reporters Without Borders--highlighted the detail from its annual World Press Freedom Index, published last month. Based on the report's findings, the group produced a color-coded map that shows how each country on Earth generally regards free expression and information.
In honor of the United Nations-designated day dedicated to promoting journalism and reporters' rights across the globe, RSF explains in a new video and on its website that a full 91 percent of the world's population lives in countries coded orange for problematic, red for difficult, or black for very serious.
While sounding the alarm about a broad "climate of hostility" toward journalists, the video zooms in on a few countries that saw concerning developments last year--from Mexico and India to Poland, Hungary, and France.
"The situation has worsened even further in Saudi Arabia," the video explains, pointing to the gruesome murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year.
The video also spotlights the United States, where President Donald Trump's rhetoric continues to fuel attacks on reporters. It notes that "significantly, the United States has joined the ranks of problematic countries."
"None of humankind's big problems--whether global warming, corruption, or gender inequality--can be solved without information that is freely and independently reported and reliable, in other words, without quality journalism."
--Christophe Deloire, RSF
Overall, said RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire, "this situation is very worrying for journalists and above all for all those human beings who are being deprived of their right to information."
"None of humankind's big problems--whether global warming, corruption, or gender inequality--can be solved without information that is freely and independently reported and reliable, in other words, without quality journalism," he warned.
Deloire's comments came amid a flurry of demands from across the globe on Friday that elected officials and governments commit to safeguarding existing protections for journalists and building upon on them.
"Unfortunately, attacks, threats, harassment, and undue restrictions have become everyday events to journalists and media workers all over the world," Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a video shared on Twitter. She acknowledged that female reporters disproportionately face violence and threats.
"World Press Freedom Day is an opportunity to commit to actions that can promote more journalism and more transparency for our societies," she added. "I am convinced we can make the digital landscape a space of freedom, truth, and information."
The Committee to Protect Journalists marked the day by remembering the at least 1,340 journalists who have been killed because of their work since 1992. The American nonprofit, on its website, pointed out that at least 54 of those reporters were killed last year--an 88 percent increase from the previous year.
Advocacy groups also directed attention to journalists who have been jailed for doing their job, including Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. The pair remains imprisoned in Myanmar after investigating the massacre of Rohingya Muslims--for which U.N. observers concluded the nation's top military leaders should be investigated and prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
"Whether you are a journalist or not, this day concerns all of us because the truth belongs to all of us," tweeted Amnesty International secretary general Kumi Naidoo.
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.