The Freedom Forum

Press Freedoms On Global Decline

By Sharon Shahid and Judy Park

WASHINGTON — The Newseum's 36-foot by 20-foot map illustrating press freedoms around the world served as a backdrop for the April 29, 2008, release of Freedom House's annual survey of global press freedoms.

According to the survey, which has studied media independence in 195 countries and territories since 1980, press freedoms have suffered a six-year decline. Journalists are working in increasingly hostile environments in almost every region in the world.

"This exhibit provides a unique platform to depict global, regional and country trends," Jennifer Windsor, executive director of Freedom House, said of the Time Warner World News Gallery where the map is located.

The map is color coordinated to reflect the different levels of press freedoms. Countries painted in green enjoy press freedoms. Those in yellow have partial press freedoms. The countries in red allow no press freedoms.

"One of the core messages at the Newseum is that a free press is the cornerstone of democracy," said Joe Urschel, executive director of the Newseum. "The two go hand in hand, as do the missions of the Freedom House and the Newseum."

The Newseum's map, which Urschel said would be updated every year, was updated prior to the program. The status of press freedoms in five countries — four in Africa, one in South America —changed.

Benin went from a "free" press to "partly free."
Central African Republic went from "partly free" to "not free."
Egypt went from "not free" to "partly free."
Guyana went from "free" to "partly free."
Niger went from "partly free" to "not free."

"Daily headlines are reminding us that freedom is fragile," said Thomas Dine, a Freedom House trustee member.

Freedom House is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that promotes freedom and democracy around the world.

The Newseum, which opened on April 11, 2008, is a 250,000-square-foot museum of news that offers visitors an experience that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit newseum.org or call 888/NEWSEUM.

Every day, newseum.org features more than 400 newspaper front pages from around the world. Click here for links to the newspapers that participate. For an archive of past recaps, visit the Today’s Front Pages Archive here.

PETITION
Vitamin maker who
SLAPPed critic must pay
Federal magistrate's order follows March ruling that found company violated California law when it sued Barry Minkow for fair criticism.

RELIGION
10th Circuit says Wyo. man must stand trial in eagle case
Unanimous three-judge panel finds that Native Americans' religious freedoms aren't violated by federal law protecting birds or government's permit policy.

ANALYSIS
Tenn. woman gets go-ahead
to sue boss over firing

By David L. Hudson Jr. — 6th Circuit panel finds merit in Karen Cameron's intimate-association claim that she was fired for marrying political foe.

SPEECH
Trial to proceed over exclusion from press conference
9th Circuit panel finds that although Forest Service can control who speaks at its news conferences, who can attend is a different matter.

PRESS
Texas high court accused of overusing anonymous opinions
Chief justice says spike in court's use of per curiam decisions isn't cause for concern, but watchdog group says such decisions enable elected body to operate without public accountability.

COMMENTARY
Teachers’ private postings
may make waves in school

By Gene Policinski — Freedom to express ourselves doesn't necessarily mean there won't be consequences.

SPEECH
Constitution isn't 'living'
or 'dead,' chief justice says
John Roberts also tells Kansas audience that it's "the responsibility of the Supreme Court to uphold freedom of speech, even when it's
unpopular."

RELIGION
Federal judge: School can't send buses to religious rally
Alliance Defense Fund had filed suit against Louisiana school board after it voted to deny transportation for student club to attend "Just for Jesus" event.

Tragedy strikes on anniversary of mosque bombing
Iraqi cameraman Alaa Abdul-Karim Al-Fartoosi was traveling to Samarra to cover the anniversary of the bombing of a revered mosque when a roadside bomb ripped through his car, killing him and the driver, and injuring two accompanying journalists. The television station Al-Fartoosi worked for is owned by a Shi’ite political party.

'08 Chips Quinn Scholars
report from the Newseum
The 15-student strong Chips Quinn spring class was joined by three students from the summer class for a 4-day orientation at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The orientation included in-class discussion, a tour of the Newseum and seminars from staff and experienced professionals. See photos and read the scholars’ thoughts on orientation and their upcoming internship at the Spring 2008 Blog.

New class in '08
springs into action
The Chips Quinn Scholars program is ramping up for its spring class welcoming 18 students to Washington, D.C. The program will commence with four days of orientation at the Newseum located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. The spring class will be the first to walk the halls of the new building.

Applications are now being
accepted for next year's AIJI
An academic, scholarship and internship program run by the Freedom Forum at The University
of South Dakota, the American Indian Journalism Institute is the premier journalism training and newsroom internship program for Native American college students. Click here to read more about the program and complete an application.

Taking the good with bad
and turning it into gold
After an internship at The News Journal in Wilmington, Del.,
Sonia Dasgupta shares 10
lessons she learned from writing
for a major publication. Dasgupta was a Summer 2007 Chips
Quinn Scholar.

Last system update: Sunday, May 11, 2008 | 16:00:07