Freedom of Press in Pacific Asia

By Tessie Lopez

"To preserve the freedom of the human mind... and freedom of the press, every spirit should be ready to devote itself to martyrdom; for as long as we may think as we will and speak as we think, the condition of man will proceed in improvement."

-Thomas Jefferson to William Green Munford, 1799.

CONCEPTUALIZATION

FREEDOM OF PRESS  To communicate through various

mediums- including oral, written, and electronic media produced yet not limited to publishing and broadcasting- without interference from a state.

  Note: Preservation of such freedoms may exist through constitutional

laws or otherwise legal standards protecting the freedom of press (ex: protection of the freedom of press found in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.)

COMMUNICATIONS

The freedom of the press can be mobilized through individual and or organized entities independent from governmental powers.

Types of Media Newspapers Magazines Photojournalism Online news sites Television broadcasts Radio broadcasts Film/ Documentaries

Purpose of the media- to serve as an informative outlet that seeks to obtain truth of unlimited subjects and to express that truth through communication tools

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers“

*Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 after WWII

SOURCES

Freedom house press index measures the concept of press independence from state and economic influence in each country

Reporters San Frontiers (1) covers journalist attacks, murders, harassments, expulsions (2) state monopolies interfering with TV and Radio, (3) Government imposed censorships upon media, (4) Difficulties foreign reporters face, and (5) overall independence of media from government

The Committee to Protect Journalists tracks journalist deaths and detentions through independent research with working journalists all over the world.

1.www.freedomhouse.org

2. www.rsf.org

3. www.cpj.org

4. www.un.org

DATA

2009 Reports (CPJ)

Philippines- 34 Journalists were killed Maguindanao Massacre. Ranked second most dangerous country to journalists concerning the reported deaths. Iraq is ranked as one.

North Korea- Ranked as most censored country. Reporters smuggle

news out of the country. Two U.S. journalists have been held for five months.

Burma- Government censors all print publications, controls broadcasters. Ranked as worst country to be a blogger in. Eight journalists currently imprisoned.

China- 24 journalists imprisoned as of December 2009, most online journalists. Issues include prolonged detentions without charges and vague charges including anti-state and revealing state secrets accusations.

Vietnam- 300 cybercafés were set up with equipment and software tracking visits to banned web sites. Harassment and detention for bloggers is considered regular.

Thailand- Heavily used lese majeste laws criminalize criticism of royal family. Attempted assassination on Yellowshirt leader Sondhi Limthongkul.

Data Collection Focus:identifying press independence from governmental powers

Only 17 % of the world's citizens live in countries that enjoy a free press. (FH Press Index)

World Wide StatsIn 2003 42 journalists were reported murdered and at least 130 journalists were imprisoned (RSF)

Nondemocratic states have engaged in firing, blacklisting, imposing death threats, kidnapping, torturing, and assassinating journalists (CPJ)

Statistics from RSF 1(best) – 167 (worst)

Japa

n

Sout

h Ko

rea

Taiw

an

Philipp

ines

Indo

nesia

Laos

Viet

nam

China

Burm

a

North

Kor

ea0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180Press Freedom Violations 2003-2004 World Rank-

ings

countries

FREEDOM HOUSE INDEX

40%

25%

35%

FHI 2008

Free Partly Free Not Free

Politics/Economy/Law2008

Free:Hong Kong 10/9/11Japan 13/6/2South Korea 12/9/9Taiwan 7/6/7

Partly Free:Indonesia 22/15/17Cambodia 22/19/19East Timor 13/13/12Philippines 23/11/11Thailand 24/15/17

Not Free:Brunei 25/22/28Burma 29/28/30China 35/21/28Laos 32/25/26Malaysia 23/18/24North Korea 39/29/30Singapore 24/21/24Vietnam 33/22/27

Taiw

an

Hong

Kong

East

Tim

or

Indo

nesia

Cambo

dia

Sing

apor

e

Viet

nam

China

North

Kor

ea0

20

40

60

80

100

120Press Freedom Rankings 2008

Pacific Asia

End