PressEthic

According to the recent World Press Freedom Ranking, the U.S. has dropped 20 spots from last year to number 44 in a list of 167 countries in providing freedoms to news media. Mind you that this index measures whether governments act to suppress reporting, but it does not reflect whether the media accessible to the population is biased or controlled by the ruling elite.

Now this is quite intriguing to me, especially since mass media in many countries fall short of providing a variety of opinions. One of the countries I call into question is El Salvador. It was ranked above the United States, a country that only about 15 years ago signed peace accords to escape a century of civil strife and military rule. Although Salvadorian media endorses more freedom of expression than other Central American countries, I question El Salvador’s ranking because it’s current president, Tony Saca, a former broadcaster, owns a radio network, and therefore many of the country’s major radio stations. During 2004’s political campaign for office, Saca had the “ability”:http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/elections/elsalvador/ to saturate the media with his image as well as control and limit the space for debate. How is journalism a voice for democracy when it is run by the right-wing media elite? Isn’t this restricted press at it’s best?

The U.S.’s drop is said to be in large part, due to the Judith Miller scandal and her jailing. I agree that the inability for journalists to protect the confidentiality of their sources is an obvious form of censorship that needs to be corrected. But I would like to see an index that takes into consideration all elements that lead to a truly free press. Excuse the cynicism, but maybe it just doesn’t exist.