10 Countries with Maximum Press Freedom


Bangalore: “A free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad,” said Albert Camus. Reporters without Borders in its World Press Freedom Index 2013 indicate how countries rank on press freedom. As per the report “This year’s index is a better reflection of the attitudes and intentions of governments towards media freedom in the medium or long term.” However in Asia, India ranks 140th, which is at its lowest since 2002 because of increasing impunity for violence against journalists and as internet censorship continues to grow.

It further said “The Indian subcontinent was the Asian region that saw the sharpest deterioration in the climate for those involved in news and information in 2012.” The report also highlighted that “in India, the ‘world’s biggest democracy’, the authorities insist on censoring the web and imposing more and more taboos, while violence against journalists goes unpunished and the regions of Kashmir and Chhattisgarh become increasingly isolated.”

The top 10 countries with maximum press freedom are:

Finland:
Finland takes the first place on the list and for the third year running it has distinguished itself as the country that most respects media freedom. As per the report, Nordic countries have continued to demonstrate their ability to maintain an optimal environment for news providers.

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