Jamaica 8th on global press freedom ranking

JAMAICA HAS jumped two places to eighth on the 2017 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders yesterday, while North Korea eclipsed Eritrea for the last spot on the 180-country ranking. Norway, Sweden, and Finland are the top three countries, while Costa Rica, which retained its sixth-place ranking, is the only other country in the Americas to make it into the top 10. The latest compilation reflects a world in which attacks on the media have become commonplace and strongmen are on the rise, the authors lamented, pointing to the devastating impact of seismic geopolitical eruptions on press freedom. “The obsession with surveillance and violations of the right to the confidentiality of sources haven (sic) contributed to the continuing decline of many countries previously regarded as virtuous. This includes the United States (down t wo places at 43rd), the United Kingdom (down two at 40th), Chile (down two at 33rd), and New Zealand (down eight at 13th). Donald Trump’s rise to power in the United States and the Brexit campaign in the United Kingdom were marked by high-profile media bashing, a highly toxic anti-media discourse that drove the world into a new era of post-truth, disinformation, and fake news, the report noted. “We have reached the age of post-truth, propaganda, and suppression of freedoms – especially in democracies.

FREEDOMS NOT SECURE

“The rate at which democracies are approaching the tipping point is alarming for all those who understand that if media freedom is not secure, then none of the other freedoms can be guaranteed,” said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire.

Suriname, at 20, is t wo places ahead of the Canada; while Trinidad, at 34, is the next best-placed regional country, with t he Organisation Eastern Caribbean States at 38.

Haiti, at 53, is well ahead of neighbouring Dominica Republic at 59, while Guyana sits in the 60th spot.

The document goes on to highlight that the Middle East and North Africa region, which has ongoing wars in Yemen (down four at 166th) as well as Syria, continues t o be t he world’s most difficult and dangerous region for journalists. Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the second-worst region, does not lag far behind.