Thursday, February 13, 2014

Not That They'd Use Freedom If They Had Any...

U.S. Plummets in Global Press Freedom Rankings | Josh Stearns: "According to a new report from Reporters Without Borders, there was a profound erosion of press freedom in the United States in 2013.

After a year of attacks on whistleblowers and digital journalists and revelations about mass surveillance, the United States plunged 13 spots in the group's global press freedom rankings to number 46.

Reporters Without Borders writes that the U.S. faced "one of the most significant declines" in the world last year. Even the United Kingdom, whose sustained campaign to criminalize the Guardian's reporters and intimidate journalists has made headlines around the world, dropped only three spots, to number 33. The U.S. fell as many spots as Paraguay, where "the pressure on journalists to censor themselves keeps on mounting.""