South Asia was the only region where the watchdog observed an improvement in press freedom in 2009. Political turmoil and drug violence in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East have caused global press freedom to deteriorate to its worst level in the past 14 years, the report claims.
The survey also claims that authoritarian regimes have intensified their already strong grip on media. Myanmar, Eritrea and Iran were among the countries rated as having minimal or non-existent media freedom.
Panos London promotes the participation of poor and marginalised people in national and international development debates through media and communication projects. It is part of the worldwide Panos Network of independent institutes working to ensure that information is used more effectively to foster debate, pluralism and democracy.
Go to: http://www.panos.org.uk
