# World press freedom ranked. My country is nr 1! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 24, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610 "2002-10-24T00:56:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/21 "2002-10-24T10:51:09Z")
Jesus, what is it about some people? The smallest criticism of their own country and it’s a conspiracy. Look at their [website](http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=20): they bitch about everyone who distorts press freedoms. I’d be willing to bet if a similar survey were carried out by an independent US-based lobby, you’d accept their results verbatim. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/22 "2002-10-24T10:51:52Z")
YOJIMBO! I made no allusions that the U.S. should be on top of the list. What I am saying is that this list is Bullshit. I don’t care who’s where or why. If my previous post didn’t explain why I think it’s biased then fuck it! Now, concerning your little personal attack. I’m not quite sure what evoked that response. I guess some people think that’s the adult way to handle things. Maybe in your part of the world, that’s cool. Whatever. :rolleyes: Not that it means a damned thing to you or anybody else, but my family came here from Ireland. That part of the world’s always been of interest to me. I have no feeling of superiority as an American over anyone anywhere when it comes to Nationality. That’s absurd, as a matter of fact, there are many places in this world which have preference (to me) over the US for one thing or another. Anyway…gotta go Peace ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/23 "2002-10-24T11:05:10Z")
Well this > [@](#): > > DON"T HAVE ANYTHING TO REPORT! > > Let’s see: in the news, in Finland today…uuuhh…hmmm…it’s cold! > > the latest from Iceland…well, it’s cold here too! > > etc. etc. > > It’s not too hard to be free with the press when there’s not much to report! and your apparent persecution complex which you’ve now explained led to what I said. As I said call the list bollocks if you think so but to see a specific attack on the States is silly IMO. YMMV I’m also very hung over, crumpy over having to move to another dept. for a project I don’t what to do and just read the GD thread with neo-nazi wankers denying the holocaust and my coffee was cold this morning. Sorry if I came across too strong. You should have seen what I deleted 😉 Peace back at ya ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/24 "2002-10-24T11:19:44Z")
Just a quick visit then I really gotta go: TwoF [Bienvenue sur le site de Reporters sans frontières | RSF](http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=2533) this isn’t exactly what I had before but, read down to “missing images” "It’s a damned joke or don’t you realize that the country’s at the top of the list… DON"T HAVE ANYTHING TO REPORT! Let’s see: in the news, in Finland today" Goddamn guys…can’t y’all take a fuckin’ joke. ☹ I thought jjimm got it. Man, y’all talk about being thin-skinned. I’m merely debunking an obviously, invalid report. Which is BTW, supposedly the first one of it’s kind,(why is that?) by Reporters w/out Borders, who are less than objective themselves IMHO y’all need to chill…PEACE ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/25 "2002-10-24T11:34:23Z")
I can take a joke, but I didn’t get it. I’m afraid there are people out there who are guilty of what we thought you were doing. Read your first post again in isolation, and then see if you can understand why we took you the wrong way. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/26 "2002-10-24T11:43:28Z")
The missing images link : > [@](#): > > Missing images : censorship or “matter of taste” > Barely a week after the attacks, some European media chiefs, particularly French, have questioned the impartiality of the American TV networks, suspected of not showing “all the images”, mainly those of the victims of the attacks. Then there have been criticisms of American authorities, accused of wanted to prevent some shots from the scene being taken and put out by the media. Robert Namias, head of information for the main private French television channel TF1 has several times condemned “filtering” which he considers a form of “censorship”. "I strongly regret the censorship imposed on us by the United States, the journalist told the French daily Le Figaro on 26 September 2001. “The images that the French media paid for were filtered, treated and purified by the American authorities. How do you think we can do our job when we are denied access to information and surrounded by security forces ? **I did not want to show horrifying images but, to do the job properly, there should be a minimum knowledge**.” His opinion is shared, in varying degrees, by other French television bosses but not unanimously. "The horror of the two planes slamming into the towers. Wasn’t that enough ? asks Hervé Brusini, head of national news on the public French channel France 3. His colleague on France 2 Oliver Mazerolle, considers that he would not have shown gory images but said the American channels balked at showing this type of image “for patriotic reasons”. The French journalists all join however in condemning increasing difficulty in getting access to the World Trade Center site and the unwillingness of the authorities to allow journalists to move about freely within the security perimeter emphasis mine. I believe that he was more upset with the choice being removed rather than the actual images themselves. I don’t necessarily agree with his opinion about access to Ground Zero, but, and heres the moral of my story, just because you dont agree with the report, it dosent make it flawed. They are a journalist pressure group. They report on obstructions to Journalism WORLDWIDE, in every country, and not against any one particular country or belief. BTW, the article you linked to was written as the title says “in the aftermath” of 11th September. It was not part of the report itself, but could explain some of the factors for the US’ position onm the chart. The article does have a point. there was a huge crackdown in dissent for a while in America, with anything negative being called “Unamerican”. It wasn’t anything planned, just a reaction to what happened. > [@](#): > > Goddamn guys…can’t y’all take a fuckin’ joke. I’m sorry if I was harsh, but I didn’t find it very funny. > [@](#): > > I’m merely debunking an obviously, invalid report. Not agreeing with it does not make it invalid. ---
**Author:** ![bj0rn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@bj0rn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bj0rn)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/27 "2002-10-24T11:48:21Z")
if iceland allowes people like me to speak publically, it automatically qualifies as a top 10…it surprised me that it accually made nr. 1 bj0rn - … ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/28 "2002-10-24T11:48:40Z")
Just the Texan in me I guess, suppose it was a little dry. Let’s see: in the news, in Finland today…uuuhh…hmmm…it’s cold! the latest from Iceland…well, it’s cold here too! Hey, sorry if you don’t get it. It hasn’t been cold here in awhile. It was nearly 100\* just the other day. The temperature dropped to 70 this week. That made the news here…“cold front hits Texas, temps. expected to be in the upper 60’s” “which BTW, would be fine w/ me if US had a little more tranquility” Thought that was my disclaimer! I wish we had a little more Peace here. Not that Ireland’s exactly w/out conflict. But, I bet you can walk down the street at night. I mean read the US headlines. Damn’ it’s fucked up, You know I love this place, but sometimes it’s just too much. later~ ---
**Author:** ![bj0rn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@bj0rn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bj0rn)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/29 "2002-10-24T11:53:56Z")
> [@](#): > > the latest from Iceland…well, it’s cold here too! i resent that as a warm blooded lava being… what cold is is often a matter of opinion, and i say that it is much colder in greenland, yet it does not rank in the top 10! so take your “lack of news” logic to “hot places”… bj0rn - … ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/30 "2002-10-28T00:39:58Z")
We’re number one! Holland! Holland! Holland! Take that, you commie American bastards! [sub]Yeah, I’m a little late, but I liked this thread. Oh, and for the humour-impaired:[/sub]😉 ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/31 "2002-10-28T00:58:49Z")
Count me in as another one SHOCKED that Canada was so high up. I mean, they’re almost all owned by the same person! ---
**Author:** ![Jurhael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@Jurhael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurhael)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/32 "2002-10-28T02:48:48Z")
I was pretty shocked too, at first. But, I never considered it an “attack on America”. I mean 17th isn’t that bad. They beat Greece, which was 19th, IIRC. HEheeh ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/33 "2002-10-28T03:26:53Z")
```auto 120 Uzbekistan 45,00 121 Russia 48,00 122 Iran 48,25 ``` Now **That’s** Glasnost ! ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/34 "2002-10-28T06:42:12Z")
I wonder why the UK did so badly? It does have some fairly stringent court reporting restrictions and stuff like that, but I never saw that as a “press freedom” issue while working there. And the United Arab Emirates… suspiciously off the list… > [@](#): > > \*\*Following is the text of the speech by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Information and Culture, at the opening of the Dubai Media City:  I am delighted to be here \ > > The opening of the Dubai Media City is of relevance for a number of important issues. The first is that of the freedom of the media. We believe that this freedom is essential. It is the life breath of any effective media. There is no proper life without freedom, and the media cannot perform its proper role if it is not enabled to promote discussion on all the issues relevant to our lives. > > When I talk about media freedom, I do not mean it as an ambiguous and misleading phrase. The freedom in which we believe is responsible freedom, in accordance with the law. Like other societies, the UAE has a structure of laws and regulations which define the rights and duties of its inhabitants. These provide a clear and unambiguous guide as to the nature of the freedoms of individual human beings, and also of the media.\*\* ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/35 "2002-10-28T08:45:58Z")
The UK is rather notoriously censorial (the Official Secrets Act, D-Notices etc). I no longer have a cite for this, but when I wrote an essay on media censorship for my politics course at Middlesex Uni I came across a study by the Glasgow Media Group which found the UK “head and shoulders above” the other nine countries it studied in terms of the amount of press censorship. Mind you it was comparing the UK to other western European countries - I wouldn’t speculate how it compares to the rest of the world. ---
**Author:** ![litost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@litost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/litost)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610/36 "2002-10-28T09:28:00Z")
One of the interesting things was Israel ranked at 92, 10 ranks below Palestine (82). The website for this organization has a brief paragraph about this: > [@](#): > > The political weakening of the Palestinian Authority (82nd) means it has made few assaults on press freedom. However, Islamic fundamentalist opposition media have been closed, several attempts made to intimidate and attack local and foreign journalists and many subjects remain taboo. The aim is to convey a united image of the Palestinian people and to conceal aspects such a demonstrations of support for attacks on Israel. > > The attitude of Israel (92nd) towards press freedom is ambivalent. Despite strong pressure on state-owned TV and radio, the government respects the local media’s freedom of expression. However, in the West Bank and Gaza, Reporters Without Borders has recorded a large number of violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which guarantees press freedom and which Israel has signed. Since the start of the Israeli army’s incursions into Palestinian towns and cities in March 2002, very many journalists have been roughed up, threatened, arrested, banned from moving around, targeted by gunfire, wounded or injured, had their press cards withdrawn or been deported. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-press-freedom-ranked-my-country-is-nr-1/133610.md?page=1)