Press freedom in the news 12/26/08

The news that BBC reporter Jonathan Head could face jail time in Thailand for alledgely insulting the Thai monarchy has recieved significant coverage over the holidays. Our alert on the incident from Wendesday has been cited in a number of outlets including The Associated Press, the UK-based Press Association, and the Irish Examiner. All three quoted CPJ’s Asia Program Coordinator Bob Dietz as saying, “Head’s reporting has raised important questions about Thailand’s deteriorating political situation and he should be allowed to report without fear of official reprisals.”

Also in the news today, the Pakistan-based International News has additional coverage of our year-end census of killed journalists, released last week.