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The Top 5 Deadliest Countries for Journalists
| Country | Confirmed Journalists Killed (1992 - 2010) |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iraq | 145 |
| 2 | Philippines | 70 |
| 3 | Algeria | 60 |
| 4 | Russia | 52 |
| 5 | Colombia | 43 |
Special Report
- According to the Committee to protect journalists 838 journalists have been killed since 1992 (the year the CPJ began recording data). Many journalists are killed, injured or harassed in war zones, either targeted by one side or another or caught in the crossfire of violence. Others are the victims of premeditated assault and intimidation either by criminals, terrorists or by agencies of the state - the police, the military or the security forces - acting secretly and illegally.
- 2009 was the deadliest year for the media ever recorded by CPJ. The toll was driven by the election-related slaughter of 32 journalists and media workers in the Philippine province of Maguindanao, the worst event for the press in CPJ history.
- The second U.S. war with Iraq has been the most lethal for journalists since World War II. To date, the number of journalists and media contributors killed in the country since the conflict broke out on the 20th of March 2003 stands at 230. That is more than those killed during the entire Vietnam War or the civil war in Algeria. Iraq has also been the world's biggest market for hostages. Over 93 media professionals were abducted in those seven years, at least 42 of whom were later executed. Moreover as of June 2010, 14 journalists are still missing. Of the journalists killed in Iraq from 2003 to 2010, 93% were men and 7% were women. 87% killed were Iraqi journalists, 9% were from coalition countries and 4% were from other countries. 46% were working for a television network and 36% were working for print media. The worst-hit news staff was that of Al-Iraqiya, the national television network: 14 of its journalists were killed in the last seven years. The vast majority of the journalists - 77 in all - were killed in Baghdad or in the capital's vicinity and close to 70% died in targeted attacks with "unidentified armed groups" being responsible for 83% of the casualties. 9% were killed by U.S. forces and 5% coming from Islamist armed groups.
- According to the Brussels-based International News Safety Institute (INSI), over one thousand journalists were killed over the last ten years as a result of their work. Nine out of ten murderers of journalists between 1996 and 2006 were not prosecuted, making the killing of journalists a cheap, easy and virtually risk-free method of silencing critics. Only one in four journalists died in war and other armed conflicts during that period and at least 657 men and women were murdered in peacetime - reporting the news in their own countries.
- The unprecedented mass killing of 32 journalists and media workers, along with at least 26 others, in the southern Philippines on November 23 mark 2009 as the darkest year yet for media safety in the Asia-Pacific. According to the International Federation of Journalists, the massacre is the single worst atrocity against the media in living memory, and makes the Philippines - with 36 targeted killings in 2009 - the most dangerous country for journalists this century outside Iraq.
- Committee to protect journalists. (2009). "Attacks on the Press 2009". Retrieved: November 1st, 2010.
- International Federation of Journalists. (2010). Report: "End of a Deadly Decade Journalists and Media Staff Killed in 2009". Retrieved: November 1st, 2010.
- Reporters Without Boarders. (2010). "The Iraq War: A heavy Death Toll for the Media". Retrieved: November 1st, 2010.
Tags:
Death Statistics, Deadliest
Sources: CPJ: Committee to protect journalists
List Notes: Confirmed journalists killed are from the years 1992-2010. Data is number of journalists killed "Motive confirmed". The Committee to Protect Journalists investigates the death of every journalist to determine whether it is work-related. CPJ consider a case "confirmed" only if they are reasonably certain that a journalist was murdered in direct reprisal for his or her work; was killed in crossfire during combat situations; or was killed while carrying out a dangerous assignment such as coverage of a street protest. The CPJ database does not include journalists killed in accidents such as car or plane crashes.
Sources: CPJ: Committee to protect journalists
List Notes: Confirmed journalists killed are from the years 1992-2010. Data is number of journalists killed "Motive confirmed". The Committee to Protect Journalists investigates the death of every journalist to determine whether it is work-related. CPJ consider a case "confirmed" only if they are reasonably certain that a journalist was murdered in direct reprisal for his or her work; was killed in crossfire during combat situations; or was killed while carrying out a dangerous assignment such as coverage of a street protest. The CPJ database does not include journalists killed in accidents such as car or plane crashes.
