Freedom of the press is an important metric. And while Irish media have been discussing how much freedom there is versus the risk of legal issues, the overall ranking of Ireland’s media isn’t that bad.
The ranking is based on the latest “World Press Freedom” index published by Reporters Without Borders.
We’re “white”, which is good and rank 16th overall. We’re actually doing pretty well – better than our neighbours!
Finland ranks number 1, while the UK is down at 33. As for the US it’s down the list quite a bit too ..
Full report and breakdown here
It’s initially surprising to see UK so far down the list, and the US, with its First Amendment, even further down. The reason, apparently, is Snowden.
From the report:
“The United Kingdom (33rd, -3) distinguished itself in the war on terror by the disgraceful pressure it put on The Guardian newspaper and by its detention of David Miranda, journalist Glenn Greenwald’s partner and assistant, for nine hours. Both the US and UK authorities seem obsessed with hunting down whistleblowers instead of adopting legislation to rein in abusive surveillance practices that negate privacy, a democratic value cherished in both countries.”
Quite surprising list for few countries listing down like UK, but when I read the heading, I was sure that China will be at bottom in freedom.