Though freedom of the press may be one of the most lauded ofAmerican freedoms, several countries do an even better job ofallowing information to flow freely, according to a recentstudy.
Freedom House, an American non-profit and non-partisan advocacygroup that compiles an annual list grading countries' pressfreedoms, ranked the United States behind 29 countries in their2003 report.
"Speech is apt to be less free when a country feels threatened,"said Elinor Grusin, University of Memphis associate professor ofjournalism, adding that the War on Terror might explain why theUnited States' score has slipped.
While journalists recognize the need to protect things likesensitive military information, groups like the Reporters Committeefor Freedom of the Press say the government is beingoverprotective.
Attorney General John Ashcroft instructed Freedom of InformationAct officers in the days after 9/11 to protect "sensitive butunclassified information" when answering Freedom of Informationrequests from the press, according to the RCFP Web site. The RCFPcalled the new FOI practices a "severe risk to a free press."
The RCFP also said a confluence of actions by Congress, courtsand administrators "have led to a host of 'lost stories' that areno longer informing the public about how its government works."
Names of detainees held by the United States, information on theU.S. missile defense system and access to immigration proceedingswere all problem areas cited by the RCFP.
The Freedom House report, which included its summary of 2002conditions, cited a "notable decline" in worldwide press freedom in2002.
The report classifies countries as free, partly free or not freebased on evaluations of a country's legal environment, politicalinfluence and economic pressures. Demerits in these categories aretallied, producing a country's score.
In a trend that began after 9/11, the United States' score againworsened in 2003, earning a 17, one point worse than 2002.
Despite its current score. the United States could acquire 13more demerits and still be classified as 'free' by the report.
Despite not having the freest press in the world, Grusin saidthe American press has a bigger problem -- Americans' attitudetoward the press.
The average individual doesn't differentiate the talking headson cable news from other outlets like the Washington Post, shesaid.
The American press needs to do a better job explaining theirdecisions and practices to the public, Grusin said, endorsing theuse of reader advocates at more newspapers to "demystify" thenews.
Of 193 countries surveyed, 78 scored in the free category, butthese countries only account for 20 percent of the world'spopulation, according to the report.
More countries scored 'not free' than 'partly free,' as the twogroups accounted for 35 percent and 24 percent of countriessurveyed, respectively.
Some of the countries that scored higher than the United Statesinclude Germany, Ireland, Spain and Sweden.
The United State's score tied that of Canada's, and bettered theUnited Kingdom's by one point.
