Report shows press freedom declines worldwide

WASHINGTON — Press freedom declined worldwide in 2008 as even once-unfettered nations such as Israel and Italy imposed new limits on media coverage, according to a report by media analysts.

“Declines in Israel, Italy and Taiwan illustrate that established democracies with traditional open media are not immune to restricting freedom,” said Arch Puddington, research director for Freedom House, a nonprofit organization that plans to release the report on Friday in advance of World Press Freedom Day on Sunday.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the report.

In 2007, the Middle East was the only region that had showed improvement, Puddington said in an interview. Now it shows decline, he said. Overall, the Middle East and North Africa have had the world’s lowest level of press freedom.

Freedom House attributed the new press limits in Israel mostly to travel restrictions and military censorship imposed on the press during Israel’s conflict with Palestinians in Gaza. Most media outlets were dependent on government spokespeople for their information, Puddington said.

At the same time, press freedom declined in the Israeli-occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza as Hamas and Fatah intimidated journalists, the report said.

Italy slipped to the partly free category for several reasons, including the return of Silvio Berlusconi as prime minister, said Karin Karlekar, managing editor of the study. Berlusconi controls a huge portion of the Italian media, including state radio and about 80 percent of television. Other factors, she said, included an increase in libel suits against journalists and threats from organized crime groups.

A decline in Hong Kong was attributed to increasing influence by the Chinese government over news.

Despite hopes that the Internet and new media might provide openings, the countries with the most handcuffed press were Burma, Cuba, Eritrea, Libya, North Korea and Turkmenistan – all longtime offenders, the report said.

Central and Eastern Europe showed the biggest drop in press freedom. Journalists were murdered in Bulgaria and Croatia and assaulted in Bosnia. Russia’s judiciary proved unwilling to protect journalists from similar attacks, the report said.

South Asia saw improvements in the Maldives, Bangladesh and Pakistan, while Sri Lanka and Afghanistan suffered setbacks, the report said.

The report surveyed 195 countries and territories with 70 rated free, 61 partly free and 64 not free. Only 17 percent of the world’s population live in countries that enjoy a free press, the report said.

“It is disturbing you have this decline affecting just about every part of the world,” Puddington said. “And with the dire economic climate we see even more cause for concern than in the past.” –BARRY SCHWEID, AP DIPLOMATIC WRITER