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Freedom of the Press report / Broadband - Download (WM)
Freedom of the Press report / Broadband- Watch (WM)
Freedom of the Press report / Dialup - Download (WM)
Freedom of the Press report / Dialup
- Watch (WM)
The U.S.-based organization Freedom House says media freedom declined in many parts of the world last year. The group’s annual study of reporters’ freedom says 42 percent of the world’s people live in countries without basic freedom of the media. VOA’s Kent Klein reports from Washington.
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The report is titled A Year of Global Decline. Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor says that decline continued a six-year trend, and setbacks in media freedom outnumbered advances two-to-one.
“If press freedom is increasing, we see the opportunities for freedom in other areas increasing. Conversely, if press freedom is in the decline, it can threaten other freedoms in the country,” said Windsor.
Freedom House surveyed 195 countries and territories, rating them as Free, Partly Free or Not Free. Those ratings are based on countries’ legal, political and economic conditions for journalists.
The study lists North Korea as the world’s most repressive media environment. Second from the bottom is Burma, whose military government has been accused of routinely threatening and imprisoning journalists and sources.
The chief of VOA’s Burmese Service, Than Lwin Htun, says he is not surprised by Burma’s low ranking. Several years ago, Htun says he called an opposition leader who had just been released from prison.
“And she spoke to me, and during the conversation she was even joking about it, ‘I don’t know that after this conversation my telephone line will be cut off, or I will have a little bit of trouble.’ But, not only her telephone line cut off, she was put back into the prison for two more years,” he said.
Overall, 72 countries were listed as Free, comprising 18 percent of the world’s people. Partly Free countries are home to 40 percent of the population, and 42 percent live in the 64 countries listed as Not Free.
At the same time, the Freedom House report shows some improvement in the Middle East and North Africa, the region it said has the least media freedom. The study says a growing number of journalists in those areas are willing to challenge government restraints.
Jennifer Windsor of Freedom House also says ordinary citizens are increasingly turning to “new media” such as the internet for news and information.
“And a lot of the gains that we are seeing are people are that are using the internet. But I also think we still need to look to broadcast and print media which still reach important audiences,” added Windsor.
The countries with the greatest amount of media freedom in 2007, according to the survey, were Finland and Iceland, with Denmark and Norway close behind.
The United States was in a four-way tie for 21st.
– by Kent Klein
Popularity: 1% [?]
Thankyou, this, me writing to you, a recent development tied to freedom of speech, the root to freedom of the media, that is where it starts, Democracy that is with the Individual. The Netherlands in 16 century, Barrach Spinosa, came up with the premise, that individual rights and freedom of expression, is more sacred than any one persons beleive in God. (Your right a nice Jewish Boy) So What.
Well that’s why the Dutch Press cartoons that insighted Islam to where folks got killed over freedom of expression. George Washington came from Quakers, Netherlands, and the Masons were on the move, once again. Albert Einstein picked up by the Americans in Netherland, just before Hitler could get his hands on him, and so the bomb was kept from Germany, close call. When Mao took over He slaughtered the educated, generations of doctors, artists, poets, writers, generations of families involved with music. Mao thought outside influence no good, and the intelligencia attracted the outside, no global thinking. So now they don’t produce the IQ they had before, no new inventions, discoveries, nothing original, just cheap copies, therefore all the Chinese spies, (1000 or soo) in the USA, no originality so steal ideas. Democracy with individual rights is now made to look self-centered, narcissism, uncaring,furthuering the distance between haves and have nots. Individual rights isn’t worth dieing for, because the democracies like India, and sometimes our own, supply the arms to Miramar Generals, and similar others, that abuse large populations. Look at China trying to sneak a BARGE load of weapons to Zimbabwe, THey say Black killing Black Who cares, less people to feed, We make deal with the winners, and all along threatening repercushions if the Olympic Flame goes out, or ecomonic sanctions if you do not protect the DRAGON FLAME OF THE HAN DYNASTY, you like that, your Children will have to learn Ming, or kneel to Allaha, you know what I mean. Islam does not beleive that any rights are necessary, automatic unless your born from the House of Saudi, usually from the Kings First wife, as Usual, of coarse the Kings first cousin, how nice. Osama Ben Laden also Like Sadam married first cousins, wide spread custom in Islam, and created a group of retards, Like Sadom’s two killer boys. YES I’M making fun to keep from crying, Here, in Mexico, along the border you can’t even advertise a concert for fear of getting shot, the media here TV, Radio, Newspaper,any public event is open for a shooting, reporters are bulls eye. Democracy, sporting, I mean supporting, freedom of Press, Media, internet etc. all this is now a phantasy, wishfull thinking, yearning for creative expression. Almost forgot, Technology is always a double edged sword, news moves faster, cell phone cameras everywhere, a Globe with a trillion eyes, this also creates a state of Paranoia for the ones trying to control the media and they shift into overkill, destruction and hide, The Japanese journalist SHOT point blanc, in Miramar, holding His hand up, with Press Card, yelling Japanese Press, BOOM. I cried when I saw this. It seems behind my eyes I catch myself crying more frequently, soon this will be the only freedom of expression FOR US ALL. thankyou, I know it’s negative, sorry? thankyou Peter
Written by veteran media critic and Emmy winner Rory O'Connor, Shock Jocks features unsparing profiles of the ten worst conservative radio talkers in America, including Michael Savage, Bill O' Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Don Imus and the rest.

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