Mark Grigoryan reports, that the “Reporters sans frontiers” annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index has been released, and brings the places occupied by the countries of post-soviet space, contesting them with the ratings of UK and USA:
Estonia – 3-4
Latvia – 12
Lithuenia – 23
UK – 24
USA – 48
Georgia – 66
Armenia – 77
Moldova – 81
Ukraine – 92-93Kyrgyzstan – 110
Tajikistan – 115
Kazakhstan – 125
Azerbaijan – 139
Russia – 144
Belarus – 151
Uzbekistan – 160
Turkmenistan – 167There is a total of 169 countries in the list. The full list can be found here (on the organization’s site).
Uzogh has done some research on the subject and come up with an interesting question: “With Azerbaijan everything is clear – they just like to put journalists to jail. With Georgia everything is clear too. What I don’t understand is our rating – we have jumped from 101st place to 77th. How did that happen?” There are some really interesting speculations in the comments section of Uzogh’s blog around the subject, but I suggest you go take a look at them there (if you know Russian of course).
Here are also a couple of links for your convenience:
Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007, Questionnaire for compiling a 2007 world press freedom index, Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006, Questionnaire for compiling a 2006 world press freedom index
The following comment on the RSF index was released by the YPC newsletter:
“”Reporters Without Borders” do not comment on the freedom of press situation
in Armenia in any way. In other words, the journalistic community of Armenia
continues to remain unaware what prompts such drastic ups and downs in its
rank, particularly this time, when Armenia gained the highest line ever,
going up by 25 ranks as compared to 2005 and 2006 RSF index.”
There was also an interesting bit in there on bloggers:
[…] ranking in its annual World Press Freedom Index. Inexplicably for journalists here, Armenia shot up 25 places although it has to be said that media access during the last parliamentary election was better than […]