Repressive governments, militants, and criminal groups across the globe are leveraging new and traditional tactics to control information and obscure misdeeds, silence dissent, and dis-empower citizens, according to Attacks on the Press, CPJ's yearly survey. The 2012 release marks the first year that the report's findings are presented with enhanced interactive features in the online version.
This year's report assessed press freedom in more than 100 countries and found that in the Arab world, journalists face unpredictable new threats, and in Asia, intimidation has a chilling effect. In Africa, investigative reporting is considered a threat to development, and in Latin America, state media serves as a politicized weapon against the independent press. Worldwide, Internet crime laws continue to put journalists in peril.
Regional sections of Attacks on the Press are available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
For the global launch of the report, CPJ held a press conference in Cairo, with approximately 30 journalists in attendance, and a live streaming panel at the Frontline Club in London-which included CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon, Colin Pereira, head of safety and security at ITN, and Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari. CPJ also received a substantial amount of media attention for the report, including an appearance by Simon on the acclaimed BBC World radio show World Have Your Say.
CPJ will be hosting several regional events in the coming months to create awareness of the report's findings and engage in discussions about the best ways to promote free expression.
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