Vienna - The organization Reporters Without Borders already counts 13 journalists who died this year due to the performance of their work. A slight improvement compared to last year, when 22 journalists were already killed in April. In addition, 147 journalists, 14 media assistants and 161 online activists and citizen journalists are currently detained.
The non-governmental organization's ranking names Finland, the Netherlands and Norway as the three countries with the highest level of press freedom - you can download the complete list on the left. The Republic of Finland has been at the top of the list since 2008, but freedom of information has two weaknesses there as well, according to Reporters Without Borders: A prison sentence can be imposed for defamation of character. And: All national media are owned by only three main owners. Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea bring up the rear in terms of press freedom. Currently, 15 journalists and four online activists or citizen journalists are in prison in Eritrea.
As far as press freedom in Austria is concerned, Austria lost four places - compared to the previous year - and is in eleventh place in the 2016 ranking, still behind Costa Rica and Jamaica. "The reason for this is the temporary information blackout in Traiskirchen, the lack of public transparency due to the still valid official secrecy as well as the strikingly large amount of government advertisements in special media," explained Rubina Möhring, President of Reporters Without Borders Austria. In 2015, the public sector spent around 188 million euros on advertising. The organization also criticizes the government's attempts to exert influence through targeted appointments to management positions at ORF. Similarly, critics accuse the Austrian government of misusing anti-terrorism laws to restrict press freedom. (sc, APA, 20.4.2016)
