2013 Press Freedom Index released

NZ Scott wrote:

Top 10:

1) Finland

2) Netherlands

3) Norway

4) Luxembourg

5) Andorra

6) Denmark

7) Liechtenstein

8) New Zealand

9) Iceland

10) Sweden

Other English-speaking countries:

15) Ireland

20) Canada

26) Australia

29) United Kingdom

32) United States

139) Singapore

Other countries of note:

145) Malaysia (where I am currently living)

173) China

178) North Korea

179) Iritrea (last place)

http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2013,1054.html

I'm not surprised that Malaysia scored so poorly, as the government has strong controls over the print media here. It is illegal to own a printing press without a license, which is issued annually by a government department. Of course, if you criticise the government then you might find that the license is not renewed.

I used to be a news reporter in New Zealand and am not surprised to see that it has crept up to 8th position. There are still some silly laws in NZ, though. For example, it is illegal in some cases to report suicides, because of copycat fears. Also, some people who appear in court charged with various crimes are able to get name suppression for certain lengths of time.

Any comments on your country?

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