Governments throughout the world seem increasingly nervous if not paranoid over a free press and media, according to a searing and poignant survey by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The annual survey of the global media in 180 countries, the French-based monitor report underscores a gradual deterioration in freedoms and the rights of journalists to freely pursue and present reports.
"It is unfortunately clear that many of the world's leaders are developing a form of paranoia about legitimate journalism," states Christophe Deloire, RSF's secretary-general. He adds that "the climate of fear results in a growing aversion to debate and pluralism, a clampdown on the media by ever more authoritarian and oppressive governments." All this points to what the watchdog group calls a "deep and disturbing decline in media freedoms."
Days after this statement, the Islamic Republic of Iran sentenced four reformist journalists to prison on the charges of "acting against national security." Though the Tehran regime's actions are hardly surprising, the RSF report overviews the wider deterioration of press freedoms and accessibly in the United States and Europe as well.
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