The U.S. ranked 27 places lower than last year in a world press freedom index, a drop caused largely by arrests of reporters during the Occupy protests across the country, according to a report.
Reporters Without Borders is a nonprofit organization based in France with more than 120 international correspondents in five continents. The organization works to promote press freedom in all sectors of the world.
Before the drop, the U.S. ranked No. 20 internationally in press freedom.
The statistics provided by the index ought to be looked at with a skeptical eye, said Joseph Russomanno, a journalism professor and First Amendment scholar at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
"My concern is whether these journalists were singled out and arrested specifically because they were journalists," Russomanno said. "On the other hand, were they journalists who were participating in the Occupy movement and were among the many people who have various kinds of occupations, and probably some no occupations, who happened to be arrested."
These statistics should be observed critically, especially when it is unknown whether the arrests of some of the journalists prevented information from being obtained, he said.
"If they're arrested that means they're not allowed to stay there to observe what's going on, so they're being denied access to information," Russomanno said. "If in fact some journalists were being singled out because they're journalists, assuming that that's true, then that's unfortunate to say the least, and frankly unacceptable."
The real question remains is whether the arrests were fabricated or justified as journalists can commit crimes and be arrested just like any other citizen, he said.
Phoenix Police Department spokesman James Holmes said that in the event of a protest, journalists are permitted to go wherever the public goes, but if they are in violation of trespassing or are involved in a potentially hazardous situation they must move at a police officer's request.
If a journalist refuses to move upon request, it can lead to an arrest, Holmes said.
Times of crisis, such as the Occupy protests, are generally when freedom of the press and of speech become “choked off,” Russomanno said.
"We might even consider that it's during periods of war time and crisis that those freedoms are particularly valuable," he said.
Bill Silcock, journalism professor and director of Cronkite Global Initiatives at Cronkite, works with the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows, professional journalists from other countries.
"We had Humphrey Fellows last year who had been, for all intents and purposes, held captive, imprisoned and beat up," Silcock said. "One man practically broke his back trying to escape because of what he was trying to do as a journalist."
As far as the state of press freedom, American media remains "a vigorous and robust and free press," he said.
Goran Rizaov, a journalist from Macedonia, is part of the Professional Development Year Program at the Cronkite School.
"(The U.S.) is one of the only countries that has strictly in its constitution the freedom of the press and the freedom of speech," Rizaov said. "I think that if somewhere in the world there is a guaranteed free press and freedom of speech, it's the U.S. and probably some Scandinavian states."
TOP 5 Most Free Presses:U.S. Rank:
- Finland
- Norway
- Estonia
- Netherlands
- Austria
(46) Taiwan
(47) U.S.
(48) Argentina
Reach the reporter at dgrobmei@asu.edu
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