No, the US isn't #1. It's not even in the Top 10. [quote]The poor ranking of the United States (17th) is mainly because of the number of journalists arrested or imprisoned there. Arrests are often because they refuse to reveal their sources in court. Also, since the 11 September attacks, several journalists have been arrested for crossing security lines at some official buildings

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Reporters Without Borders index.

Totally bogus rankings, given that France (#11) is ranked ahead of the U.S. (#17).

In France, they prosecute authors for saying things like "Islam is the stupidest religion". See: Houellebecq acquitted of insulting Islam

Some of those countries (France, Germany) don't even have a First Amendment-like protection of free speech. Sounds like someone with an anti-U.S. agenda trying to score some points.

The rankings don't surprise me, and the reasons given for the relatively low ranking of the US sound legitimate to me. Different countries have different ways of protecting human rights, and the first amendment setup is not the only way. Houellebecq was after all acquitted; we have many PC excesses in this country too, and we shouldn't always jump to assume that we are the best at everything.
I find the low ranking of Spain surprising; if anything I thought that they lacked the backbone and taste to come down on slander and misinformation for fear of being branded fascist.
Notice that Laos and Cuba, darlings of many romantic and naïve leftists, rank very low, as well they should.
Hmm... is "rsf" basically French (the proverbial sans frontières)? Then they would definitely enjoy ranking France below many other countries provided it's ahead of the US! Forgetting to remove the accent mark on Népal gives them away.

[ October 24, 2002: Message edited by: Tom ]

The Palestinian Authority 10 spots higher than Israel? That sort of ranking makes me think there's an agenda lurking in this journalistic objectivity.

Also, looking at the countries ahead of the US, shows fairly homogenous countries without great divisions between haves and have nots. They are countries lacking in controversy and international implications. Being free in an ideal society is easy.

Finally, the article indicated that "[t]he index was drawn up by asking journalists, researchers and legal experts to answer 50 questions about the whole range of press freedom violations (such as murders or arrests of journalists, censorship, pressure, state monopolies in various fields, punishment of press law offences and regulation of the media)." 50 questions asked of hand picked individuals does not sound like a valid statistical or sociological study. I'm not a social scientist and have no background in this type of research, but it sounds suspicious to me.

To be fair the article did not say that the people questioned were "handpicked." Unless futher information is given they might just as well be a representative sample, or those willing to answer the questionaire.

As for the Palestinian authority ranking above Israel, that might be a reflection of the journalists having a sympathy for "the underdog" in any confrontation. The PNL would therefore have more to gain than to lose by tolerating the press.

Also Israel is held to a higher standard by the west, whether that is right or wrong.

[quote]Originally posted by sportinlife:
To be fair the article did not say that the people questioned were "handpicked." Unless futher information is given they might just as well be a representative sample, or those willing to answer the questionaire.

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That's a valid point. However the lack of indication of how many individuals were questions, where they were and who they were does leave certain suspicions unanswered. Always cover your bases.

[quote]Originally posted by Charlie in the Trees:

In France, they prosecute authors for saying things like "Islam is the stupidest religion". See: Houellebecq acquitted of insulting Islam

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CITT, wasn't it that several Muslim groups brought charges against Houellebecq for his statements (which weren't journalistic writings, but comments in an interview)? He was, as you say, acquitted. I highly recommend his books, which are outrageous, to say the least. OUT-RA-GEOUS. My partner couldn't finish "Elementary Particles" (also known as "Atomized"). "Platform," which actually does a number of Islamic terrorists and European sex tourists, is another doozy.

Germany has strict laws against promoting Nazism. Canada forbids certain types of extreme racist speech. France also bans certain kinds of extreme speech, especially the sort that insults a particular group. Of these countries, I can clearly see the reasons behind Germany's actions--in that country during the Weimar Republic, violent speech was often backed up by violent action and reaction (the assassinations of Rathenau, Luxemburg, Liebknecht, the Beer Hall Putsch, etc.), and then came the truly horrific Nazi interregnum, where hate speech (and more violent action backing it up) was as common as sneezing....

Yikes--a double posting by accident.

Oh well--I don't think the U.S. should be ranked so low, though our major mainstream media tend to act like sheep, and they often do not give the full scope of a particular issue, from the right or left. Far too much pabulum, especially on TV!

[ October 24, 2002: Message edited by: fantomas ]

[quote]Originally posted by Tom:
we have many PC excesses in this country too, and we shouldn't always jump to assume that we are the best at everything.

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Tom, we do have PC excesses, but at the same time--and this is not a journalistic issue--the U.S. is one nation that allows not only Mein Kampf, but also The Turner Diaries, as well as rantings by the likes of Louis Farrakhan and Meir Kahane, among others, to sit on the bookshelves--that is, if they get there. In fact, Pierce's work is illegal in Germany, Austria and other countries.

So the U.S. does permit (at the federal level) a wide spectrum--though certain sexually provocative materials, or politically edgy pieces, especially critical of corporations, may still may have a hard time reaching bookshelves, because while the government may not ban it, the increasingly consolidated publishing industry (publishers, distributors, and bookstores) may agree at any stage to keep it off shelves.

There is the option, of course, of self-publishing and the Internet, which are far less regulated--thus the extremist publications from both ends that appear in the U.S., which you wouldn't find in some other countries.