A troubling report crossed The Sampson Independent’s news desk Thursday morning. According to Reporters Without Borders, press freedom throughout the world is at its lowest point in the past 25 years. Contributing to that new low, the United States of America has fallen seven spots in the past year, now ranking 64th in the world.
For a country that was founded upon the ideals of freedom, this is troubling indeed. Not only should it concern those of us who are journalists, even on the local level; it should concern the average, everyday citizen, no matter what their occupation.
For context, Reporters Without Borders describes itself as “an international non-profit organization governed by principles of democratic governance,” neither a trade union nor a representative of media companies.
Partly to blame, the Reporters Without Borders organization explains, is the increased security worldwide after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. “In 2002,” the report states, “20 percent of the global population lived in a country where the state of press freedom was categorized as ‘good.’ Twenty-five years later, less than 1 percent of the world’s population lives in a country that falls under this category.”
The counter-terrorism movements have protected many state secrets and limited coverage that pertains to the public interest in the name of increasing national security. That’s to be expected, and is arguably necessary to prevent another massive terrorist attack like the one America experienced 25 years ago.
But, we’d prefer not to have a situation in which the United States begins to resemble countries with state-controlled media like Russia, North Korea or China.
“This trend, which is particularly prevalent in authoritarian regimes, has also gained traction in democracies and typically goes hand in hand with abusive applications of the law against journalists, notably in the name of combating terrorism,” the report reads. We, for one, believe that protection shouldn’t come at the cost of freedom.
The United States was founded 250 years ago with the ideals of freedom from tyranny, freedom from being forced to be part of a particular religion, freedom from the whims of a monarchy, and, of course, freedom of the press. To see that our country, in particular, has fallen so far from the very freedoms it was founded for should be a cause for alarm to every American.
The report doesn’t mince words, with a bold subhead titled, “The U.S. falling apart under Donald Trump.” We know the president isn’t totally to blame for the U.S.’s decline from the top of these rankings, but he’s a large part of it. By attacking journalists who criticize him or ask the tough questions, by labeling facts he disagrees with “fake news,” he’s created an environment in which his supporters have grown to distrust the media, whether it’s their local newspaper or a huge 24-hour TV news conglomerate like CNN or Fox News.
Here at The Sampson Independent, we pride ourselves on being 100 percent local, and we report on issues that affect you, our readers, the most. There is no such thing as fake news in our book.
With the United States plummeting as a place in the world where journalists are safe, that affects the day-to-day environment in which you live. We encourage you to support local journalism as often and in as many ways as you can. Freedom isn’t free, after all, and it takes work to maintain it. We are doing our part, and hope that you will, too.