&w=3840&q=100)
India ranks 151st on World Press Freedom Index: Reporters Without Borders
Finland, Estonia and the Netherlands take up the top three positions in the index that sought responses from more than 5,000 persons from across the world to finalise the rankings.
"We have surveyed 5,000 respondents across the world. It comprises a diverse set including policymakers, journalists and other stakeholders," Thibaut Bruttin, assistant director general of Reporters Without Borders, said at a press conference in Delhi.
The organisation does not reveal the respondents' identity, he said and insisted that it was a diverse set representing different ideologies.
India has nearly 900 privately-owned TV channels, half of which are dedicated to news.
Around 1,40,000 publications are published in more than 20 languages, including some 20,000 daily newspapers with a combined circulation of more than 390 million copies, Reporters Without Borders said.
The US ranks 57th on the index, slipping two positions from the previous year's ranking.
Even in highly-ranked countries such as Australia (29th), Canada (21st) and Czechia (10th), media concentration is a cause for concern, Reporters Without Borders said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Shock media closure deals new blow to press freedom in Balkans
Nearly 14 years after presenting the first newscast of Al Jazeera Balkans , Sasa Delic, like his 250 colleagues, learned of the channel's closure in a shock announcement. The Bosnian journalist inaugurated the new network on November 11, 2011, telling viewers: "You are watching the first news channel in the region," and promising them "accurate, verified and impartial" information. But on July 10, management suddenly announced the Qatari-based channel's regional branch was closing, the latest in a wave of closures and downsizing to hit the Balkans' strained media industry. "I had no idea," Delic, 47, told AFP. "It was sudden, but you have to adapt. It's the owner's decision." Two days later, his colleague Dalija Hasanbegovic gave the channel's farewell sign-off: "That was the final Al Jazeera Balkans newscast. "We always tried to be the voice of those who didn't have one, an island of truth." - 'Silencing the last voices' - Claiming more than 22 million viewers, "AJB" broadcast across most of the Balkans, with studios in Belgrade, Sarajevo and Zagreb. "We never adhered to anyone's political agenda," said Delic, who added he fears the closure will hurt strained media freedoms in the region. "A beacon of free journalism in the Balkans goes dark," said philosopher and journalist Dragan Bursac in his final column published on the Al Jazeera Balkans website. Al Jazeera Balkans' executive director and one of its founders, Edhem Foco, told AFP the closure was a consequence of a "strategy shift" at the parent channel, which is investing in developing its online platform Al Jazeera 360. The loss will be felt mostly at the broadcaster's Sarajevo hub, where nearly 200 employees worked, according to Foco. "It is a warning: independent journalism in the region is increasingly under threat," said the SafeJournalists Network (SJN), a coalition of journalist associations and unions in the Balkans. For Maja Sever, director of the European Federation of Journalists, "we are witnessing the silencing of the last voices that embodied professional and quality journalism". The network's shuttering comes after the United States cut funding to a slew of foreign-based media outlets, part of President Donald Trump's budget cuts -- including to news outlets he deems hostile to his agenda. Voice of America's Serbian office closed in March after 82 years, and the future of the regional newsrooms of Radio Free Europe remains unclear. Many other independent outlets that relied on US government funding have also closed or are struggling around the world. "The damage is very significant, profound," Sever said. - Independent media disappearing - Balkan countries rate poorly in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, created by watchdog group Reporters Without Borders . Out of 180 countries, Bosnia ranks 86th and Serbia 96th. The report also noted that Serbian media "bear the brunt of attempts by the authorities to quell" large-scale anti-government protests that have rocked the country for months. At least 28 media professionals had been assaulted by police or supporters of President Aleksandar Vucic since February, it said. Independent media in the Balkans are increasingly rare, and some, like the N1 channel, are not distributed by public or government-affiliated cable operators. As these outlets shrink, many journalists will leave the profession, Sever warned. "Those who ask questions are leaving, those who think independently are leaving. Who, then, will ask a question to a prime minister or a president at a press conference? Algorithms? Artificial intelligence?" she said.
NDTV
18-07-2025
- NDTV
Media Watchdog Calls Out Trump For "Authoritarian" Attacks On Media
United States: Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders on Thursday slammed US President Donald Trump for his "authoritarian" attacks on the media since returning to office, accusing him of inspiring press crackdowns worldwide. Trump "has grown into a key figure in a global anti-journalism political movement," the New York-based RSF said in a statement. In the six months since his return to the White House, RSF said Trump had used "lawfare" and economic pressure on newsrooms, dismantled public media, banned outlets and undesirable wording, as well as smearing journalists and their employers. "Trump has matched years of verbally attacking journalists with new, concrete actions to limit press freedom. Many of these tactics are nothing new -- it's the same playbook we've seen press freedom predators employ around the world," said RSF USA executive director Clayton Weimers. "But it's clear that Trump has amplified this phenomenon, emboldening and inspiring other leaders to crack down on their own domestic media. The result is a disaster for press freedom globally." RSF also reported that it had tracked "at least 60 acts of violence against journalists during recent protests in Los Angeles against Trump's immigration policies." "This aggression towards journalists has been a staple of Trumpist politics," RSF said. In February, the White House restricted the access of US news agency Associated Press (AP) because it refused to use "Gulf of Mexico" instead of "Gulf of America," as the body of water was renamed by Trump. The Trump administration is also seeking to dismantle public broadcasting and has announced the closure of international radios Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Radio Free Asia. His bid is facing legal challenges. RSF said the measures would deprive hundreds of millions globally of "credible information," promoting "propaganda" media by "authoritarian regimes" like Russia and China.
The Hindu
01-07-2025
- The Hindu
Turkey detains cartoonists over satirical drawing allegedly depicting prophets
Turkish authorities on Monday (June 30, 2025) detained three cartoonists over a satirical drawing published by weekly magazine Leman that seemed to depict Prophets Moses and Muhammad shaking hands in the sky, while missiles flew below in a scene resembling war. The cartoon, widely seen as a commentary on religious harmony in contrast to conflict on Earth, drew strong condemnation from government officials and religious conservatives. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya shared a video on X showing police officers detaining cartoonist Dogan Pehlevan and dragging him up the stairs of a building with his hands cuffed behind his back. "I once again curse those who try to sow discord by drawing caricatures of our Prophet Muhammad," Mr. Yerlikaya wrote. "The individual who drew this vile image, D.P., has been apprehended and taken into custody. These shameless people will be held accountable before the law." Mr. Yerlikaya later posted two other videos, showing two other men being laid on the ground and forcibly taken from their homes, as policemen dragged them into vans— one of them walking barefoot. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation had been launched under Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalises incitement to hatred and enmity, and that detention orders had been issued for six people in total. In its statement on X, the Leman magazine apologised to readers who felt offended and said the cartoon had been misunderstood. It said Mr. Pehlevan had sought to highlight "the suffering of a Muslim man killed in Israeli attacks", and that there was no intent to insult Islam or its prophet. "The name Muhammad is among the most widely used in the world by Muslims honoring the Prophet. The cartoon does not depict the Prophet and was not drawn to mock religious values," the magazine said, calling some interpretations "deliberately malicious." Leman also urged judicial authorities to act against what it called a smear campaign, and asked security forces to protect freedom of expression. Earlier in the evening, video footage on social media showed a group of protesters marching to Leman's office building in central Istanbul, chanting slogans and kicking its entrance doors. Turkey's ranking for freedom of expression is consistently low, reflecting significant restrictions on media and public discourse. Reporters Without Borders ranks Turkey 158th out of 180 countries in its 2024 Press Freedom Index.
