John Emerson

New York, March 11, 2004–The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today released its annual survey, Attacks on the Press in 2003, during a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Copies of the book are available through The Brookings Institution Press [click here to order the print edition]. The entire text of…

Press freedom conditions have improved dramatically since the fall of the hard-line Taliban regime in December 2001. However, Afghanistan’s rocky transition to democracy has not removed all obstacles for the media, and local journalists remain under threat.

Albania’s contentious political environment and economic underdevelopment continued to make the country a relatively chaotic and difficult place for the independent press in 2003. Journalists faced government pressure, criminal libel lawsuits, arbitrary dismissal by politicized owners, and limited access to basic government information, particularly when investigating official corruption and organized crime. Furthermore, low professional standards,…

With Algerians preparing for the April 2004 presidential election , the government of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has always had a contentious relationship with the media, took steps to restrict press freedom. Since 1990, when the first private newspapers were allowed in Algeria, the media and the government have engaged in a tug-of-war. In 2003,…

Since the death of Jonas Savimbi, leader of the rebel National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), brought an end to Angola’s civil war in 2002, the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) has become somewhat more tolerant of the independent press. Journalists say the climate has improved, but problems…

While the economy began to recover in 2003 after the worst socioeconomic crisis in the country’s history and the political situation regained stability under a new president, the Argentine press continued to struggle with significant budgetary difficulties. Argentina’s economic collapse not only caused about a dozen media outlets to fold, it has also meant that…

In 2003, presidential and parliamentary elections dominated Armenia’s political scene. Though President Robert Kocharian managed to retain power, tens of thousands of demonstrators angered by widespread electoral fraud took to the streets in protest before the March runoff, calling for his resignation.

In January 2003, President Heydar Aliyev froze the print media’s debts to the state publishing house through 2005. But that was the only positive development for the Azerbaijani press in what turned out to be a dismal year. With Aliyev’s health failing as 2003 wore on, he began grooming his son Ilham Aliyev to take…

A new press law implemented by the government in October 2002 imposes harsh restrictions on the press, undermining the limited democracy that was introduced in this tiny Persian Gulf archipelago after elections that year. The law includes an assortment of restrictions and stipulates fines, prison terms, or closure of publications for those that violate them.…

In 2003, Bangladesh was one of the most violent countries in the world for journalists, with almost daily cases of physical assaults and intimidation–particularly in rural areas. Local journalists say they are increasingly under threat for reporting on political violence, graft, and organized crime, but that the main cause of brutality against the press in…