The Most Dangerous Countries For Journalists
In some countries, being a journalist is a very dangerous occupation to engage in. And three of the countries at the moment which are said to be the deadliest place for a reporter to be working today are Somalia, Afghanistan, and Mexico.
Reports Without Borders releases annual reports about killings of journalists around the world and it was found that for 2016, at least 74 professional and non-professional journalists had been murdered.
Some other dangerous countries for journalists are places like Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, Burundi, Iraq, and Syria.
Nearly three quarters of all journalists who lost their lives last year are said to have been deliberately murdered.
Other organizations have different estimates. For example, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) estimates that there were only 48 deaths for journalists in 2016. And they point out Syria as being the most dangerous for last year, followed by Iraq, and then Yemen.
Another organization,the International News Safety Institute, estimates that there were at least 115 deaths of journalists in 2016.
Other reports, like that from the NY Times this week, suggest that Mexico is the deadliest country at the moment for journalists, with at least 9 killed there last year.
Because there are conflicting reports it is difficult to know the exact number that lost their lives, but at least we can get a fair estimate of what countries might pose an extra risk to those engaged in this sort of occupation.
Whenever it gets too difficult for journalists to do work in these places, they often leave for their own safety and that then leaves a black hole of information; because there aren't enough honest voices reporting on what is going on. Many journalists in these countries also sensor themselves because they are afraid of being targeted for speaking the truth.
In Mexico, you might assume that the majority of killings are carried out by cartel assassins who are triggered by news coverage they don't like. However, the majority of the murders are said to be due to corrupt public officials who want to silence opposition. Government data suggests that mayors and police officers have engaged in threatening journalists more than drug cartels and other criminals in that country.
Journalists have been tortured and killed because of orders given by mayors, local officials, and police officers.
In Mexico alone, over the past decade, there have been hundreds of cases of harassment, assault, and homicide. But of course this isn't the only country that poses a risk to those engaging in journalism. And despite the stats which suggest a problem, Mexican officials maintain that there is still freedom of expression in the country and they say that full investigations take place on any attacks toward the media.
Crime and corruption aren't an issue only for Mexico, but it is an issue the world over. And honest journalists provide a great value to the market because they provide the people with the truth that they might not otherwise have been exposed to.
Of course the U.S. itself isn't without its own criticisms when it comes to how authority figures treat some journalists. They've been pepper-sprayed, unjustly detained, and some even suggest that they too have been silenced because of their reporting. This is suggested because of controversial incidents like that with a journalist shooting themselves twice in the head to commit suicide, or others having their car mysteriously burst into flames after they sent communications suggesting that they were onto a big story.
Despite the problems in the US though, it's arguably a much safer profession to engage in unfavorable journalism within the US than it is to do so in other countries.
According to UNESCO, it's estimated that one journalist is killed every week on average around the world.
Pics:
Pixabay
Sources:
https://cpj.org/killed/2016/
https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2017/jan/09/115-journalists-killed-in-2016-simply-for-doing-their-jobs
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/29/world/americas/veracruz-mexico-reporters-killed.html
https://rsf.org/en/news/2016-round-74-journalists-killed-worldwide
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/02/18/being-a-journalist-in-mexico-is-getting-even-more-dangerous/?utm_term=.47f0b1b9d596
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/04/asia/philippines-deadly-for-journalists/
Wow didn't expect t see Mexico up there! Must be an exciting job though being a journalist. But I wouldn't pick any of these countries to run a story!
Just goes to show how powerful knowledge is.
Journalists can either be of two kinds, in my estimation:
True journalism (the first kind, of course) has almost completely gone by the wayside in my estimation. People like Vanessa Beeley and Eva Bertlett (covering the Syrian war) and Gary Stix (recommended by Nassim Taleb, who writes for Scientific American) are true journalists.
I think that the internet has allowed the second type to flourish. Journalists who report what governments and big corporations don't want them to have an outlet in blogs and twitter, because no newspaper will hire them. Unfortunately, it takes effort on the part of the reader to find these blogs, so most people still consume MSM. But, I think that is slowly changing and eventually the MSM will die or adapt.
Somalia and Afghanistan I can understand but why Mexico?
National average IQ of 88.
drug war coverage? corrupt officials? like mentioned above, it's the official mexican gov data that is supporting the narrative that officials pose more of a threat there to journalists than cartel/gangs.. which is surprising.
But Mexico locates in America. And US is developed country.
Just because the US is a developed country doesn't mean Mexico is. I have a friend who is of Mexican heritage (she was raised here in the States, though) and she says there's not much that's more corrupt than the Mexican government.
to find out more check out the sources listed below :)
Somalia should be in this list.....
diff organizations have diff lists lol but yes somalia is frequently mentioned as a place of worry for journalists
As terrific as the place is,i wish to visit there!
In the Philippines...they get rich. President Duterte calls them "fat cows". They must be shot or hanged in my opinion.
you always comment on my post within just a few mins.. your reading speed is impressive.
In the Philippines journalists are also unjustly targeted and killed.
I think calling for human beings to be shot or killed because you
is pretty sick to say the least.
Nah..since President Duterte, it's the other way around now. The reason that the corrupt officials want to oust him, the drug lords and protectors want to oust him. their greed and corruption are being exposed by this man, and journalists and tv reporters are under their payroll.
If the world refuse to see that and be manipulated by our journalists including foreign ones, then am sorry but any journalist Filipino or foreign who wants to keep us Filipinos in the mire of drugs, crime and corruption, who gets paid handsomely for reporting lies doesn't deserve to live.
I can be nice and say, they need to be in jail and consume those drugs that those politicians and druglords are getting money to pay them with.
Here are the average national IQ scores for these countries Somalia 68, Afghanistan 84, Mexico 88, Libya 83 , Yemen 85, Burundi 69, Iraq 87, and Syria 83. Perhaps there is a pattern to be seen here.
IQ scores don't mean much and they aren't an honest depiction of someone's intelligence.
I used to think that until I actually looked at the other statistics associated with it. There are outliers who refuse to fit into statistical prediction, I am one, but mostly they work quite well. Years ago I was convinced that all these tests are biased. Upon review, I found that general intelligence, or 'G' is the single most useful predictor of success in most aspects of life. Data is king, but statistics should not be used as a tool to limit the individual. Societally, it is a very good predictor of the ability to sustain comprehension and practice of liberty in the majority. Proliferation of criminal behavior jumps below 90, and goes higher as you go below 85. 130 makes a good engineer. There are all kinds of inferences that can be drawn. I'm not saying any IQ should be discriminated against, but for understanding generalities, it can be very illustrative. There is an amazing wealth of research material on the matter. With the increase in funding for brain science, in the last decade, the amount of data is becoming intimidating.
I used to think it was accurate back when I gobbled up everything my post secondary institution wanted to feed me. Just takes a little common sense to know that the IQ cannot measure all facets of intelligence.
IQ, obviously, cannot measure ALL facets of intelligence.. It is useful for generalities, such as which country to call home. I find it an excellent predictor of people who I find boring. There have been attempts to classify many types of genius. 'G' is still most useful. Functional intelligence can be improved.
Post secondary institutions have no hold on me. I am an incorrigible autodidact. If I have missed some huge subset of the data, I am all ears. More to the point, if you have some data on how I can much improve my life spending time with herds of people with 70 IQs, I should like to include it in my education. I think this is not a plausible likelihood.
Truth !!
This post has been ranked within the top 25 most undervalued posts in the first half of Apr 30. We estimate that this post is undervalued by $3.73 as compared to a scenario in which every voter had an equal say.
See the full rankings and details in The Daily Tribune: Apr 30 - Part I. You can also read about some of our methodology, data analysis and technical details in our initial post.
If you are the author and would prefer not to receive these comments, simply reply "Stop" to this comment.
Turkey is an interesting place for Journalist nowadays. Maybe the are not murdered, but just a few words against the leader of the country, and you end up in jail. BTW, Turkey just blocked Wikipedia in last days!