Thu, 21 Apr, 2016 12:05:42 AM FTimes Report, Apr 21  Journalists at work. File Photo Lehtikuva. Finland ranked top for the sixth consecutive year in the index of World Press Freedom 2016 released on Wednesday by Paris-based international organisation Reporters Without Borders.
The Reporters Sans Frontier (RSF), or Reporters Without Borders, ranked the performance of 180 countries based on an evaluation of media freedom that measures pluralism, media independence, the quality of the legal framework and the safety of journalists.
It also brought media pluralism and independence, respect for the safety and freedom of journalists, and the legislative, institutional and infrastructural environment in which the media operate under consideration.
Netherlands ranked second in the list while two other Scandinavian countries Norway and Denmark ranked third and fourth respectively followed by New Zealand, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Sweden, Ireland and Jamaica.
Eritrea was at the bottom of the list followed by North Korea, Turkmenistan, Syria and China.
According to the index, Germany is ranked 16, United Kingdom 38, United States of America 41, France 45, Japan 72 and Russia 148.
The 2016 World Press Freedom Index highlights the intensity of the attacks on journalistic freedom and independence by governments, ideologies and private-sector interests during the past year.
File Photo Lehtikuva. It also includes indicators of the level of media freedom violations in each region.
These show that Europe (with 19.8 points) still has the freest media, followed distantly by Africa (36.9), which for the first time overtook the Americas (37.1), a region where violence against journalists is on the rise.
Asia (43.8) and Eastern Europe/Central Asia (48.4) follow, while North Africa/Middle East (50.8) is still the region where journalists are most subjected to constraints of every kind.
Published annually by RSF since 2002, the World Press Freedom Index is an important advocacy tool based on the principle of emulation between states.
“It is unfortunately clear that many of the world’s leaders are developing a form of paranoia about legitimate journalism,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said in a release.
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