The World Press Freedom Index measures the level of media freedom based on multiple parameters such as level of pluralism, media independence, environment and self-censorship, the legal framework, transparency and the quality of infrastructure that supports the production of news and information.
The situation in the Americas reflects a global trend in which the number of countries regarded as safe for journalists continues to decline, given the hostility expressed by political leaders.
What do you think of the results of the report?
In January 2019, the Nigerian Military invaded two regional offices of Daily Trust, a media house, over a report it ran on its daily.
The report pointed to the Supreme Court's ruling against VICE reporter Ben Makuch last November that compelled him to give the RCMP all of his communications with an alleged Canadian terrorist who fought for the Islamic State.
"A supreme court decision finally brought an end to Sirisena's political maneuver, one clearly prejudicial to journalism, but this episode served as a stark reminder of Sri Lankan press freedom's vulnerability to political vicissitudes", the press freedom organization commented. "Kosovo's ethnic divisions are the source of these disturbing problems". Reporters in the United States have been attacked by both police and protesters while covering demonstrations, and others have been targeted at the border by authorities, she says.
"The 2019 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) shows how hatred of journalists has degenerated into violence, contributing to an increase in fear", RSF wrote in its report.
Elsewhere in the region, press freedom continued to erode in Bangladesh and the Philippines in 2018, RSF reported. Montenegro, Albania, Croatia, Romania, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina all dropped in the rankings.
The United States is down three places, to 48th.
The country has risen 14 places and now ranks 95th on the list.
Despite an "ingrained tendency" from senior government officials in North Macedonia to threaten and insult journalists, said RWB, journalists' safety improved markedly.
The concern is growing that basic freedoms, including press freedom, could be sacrificed in the course of the worldwide efforts to restore peace in Afghanistan, the RSF says, adding that in response to this threat, the RSF-backed Centre for the Protection of Afghan Women Journalists has launched several campaigns for the protection of the rights of women journalists as a precondition for peace. Greece jumped from 74th to 65th place, and Croatia from 69th to 64th.
