Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs
- On the World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) (3rd May), the 20th edition of the World Press Freedom Index was published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
- India ranked 150th among the 180 countries.
Highlights of the World Press Freedom Day
- The day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991.
- The day also marks the 1991 Windhoek Declaration (adopted by UNESCO).
- It aimed towards the ‘development of a free, independent and pluralistic press’.
- Theme for 2022-Journalism under digital siege
World Press Freedom Index
- It has been published every year since 2002 by Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) or Reporters Without Borders.
- Based in Paris, RSF is an independent NGO with consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF).
- OIF is a 54 french speaking nations collective.
- The Index ranks countries and regions according to the level of freedom available to journalists. However, it is not an indicator on the quality of journalism.
- The Index’s rankings are based on a score ranging from 0 to 100 that is assigned to each country or territory, with 100 being the best possible score (the highest possible level of press freedom) and 0 the worst.
- Each country or territory’s score is evaluated using five contextual indicators : political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety.
Highlights of the Performance of the World
The report reveals a two-fold increase in “polarisation” amplified by information chaos, that is, media polarisation fuelling divisions within countries, as well as polarisation between countries at the international level.
Ranking of Countries:
Top and Worst Performers:
- Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th) grabbed the top positions.
- North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of the 180 countries.
- Russia was placed at 155th position.
- India’s Neighbours:
- Nepal has climbed up by 30 points in the global ranking at 76th position.
- The index placed Pakistan at 157th position, Sri Lanka 146th, Bangladesh 162nd and Myanmar at 176th position.
- China was ranked at 175th position.
Performance of India
- India has fallen eight places from 142nd to 150th in the 2022 among the 180 countries.
- India’s position has been consistently falling in the index since 2016 when it was ranked 133.
- The reasons behind fall in ranking is the increased “violence against journalists” and a “politically partisan media”.
SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT
