[Mb-civic] !!!

[Ian]

According to Reporters Without Borders, a non-partisan group that tracks issues of press freedom throughout the world, the U.S. only ranks 22 among the 167 countries in the study.  So much for the U.S. being the "freest" nation on earth, at least vis-a-vis freedom of the press!

However, even this placement is misleading, since what the Times calls a "tie" for first place actually includes 7 countries, and, with other "ties" along the way, the U.S. actually ranks 44th, not 22nd!!

I have included the link to the RWB site at the end.

Peace.

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Freedom File
The fall issue of Colors magazine is dedicated to Reporters Without Borders, an organization that advocates for freedom of the press. The issue includes the organization's freedom of press ranking, which runs from No. 1 for countries with the most press freedom, to No. 167 for the one with the least.

Rankings are based on 53 criteria, including the number of journalists killed, imprisoned, threatened or expelled, and the amount of government control exerted over the Internet. 

The United States is ranked No. 22. 

Tied for No. 1: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia and Switzerland

[Ian's note: All of those freer than the U.S. include the above, plus Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia, Hungary, New Zealand, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago, Austria, Latvia, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Canada, Lithuania, Portugal, U.K., Benin, Cyprus, Namibia, El Salvador, Cape Verde, France, Australia, South Africa, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Jamaica, Mauritius, South Korea, Japan, Mali, Hong Kong, Spain, Costa Rica, Italy, Macedonia]

No. 158: Iran
No. 159: Saudi Arabia
No. 160: Nepal
No. 161: Vietnam
No. 162: China
No. 163: Eritrea
No. 164: Turkmenistan
No. 165: Burma
No. 166: Cuba
No. 167: North Korea

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The link to the report:

http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=554
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