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Guyana remains with ‘noticeable problems’ on World Press Freedom Index
– Overall score drops
By Desilon Daniels
Though Guyana’s position on the World Press Freedom Index has risen five places from 2014, the country’s overall score has declined in the 2015 report.
The World Press Freedom Index ranks 180 countries by 5 different categories, ranging from a good situation to a very serious situation.
As Guyana joins the rest of the world in observing World Press Freedom Day today, work is still needed to move the country out of the area assigned for nations with “noticeable problems” with press freedom.
The report ranks countries into five categories based on where their index falls. The best ranked countries are placed in the “good situation” category while the second best are deemed to have satisfactory situations. The lowest ranks are countries with noticeable problems, difficult situations and very serious situations respectively.
According to the 2015 World Press Freedom Index, Guyana ranked #62 out of 180 countries. This represented an upward jump of five spots from #67 out of 180 in 2014. However, though the country’s rank rose, its overall score dropped 0.13 points from 27.08 in 2014 to 27.21 in 2015.
Though Guyana’s newest position is the highest in the past five years, this year’s score is the first drop the country has seen since 2012. From 2012 to 2014, Guyana had acquired an overall score of 27.08 though its relative position shifted over time.
According to Adam Harris, editor-in-chief at the Kaieteur News, Guyana is generally free when it comes to press freedom. However, he said, impediments such as libel laws and expansions in the areas of radio and television remain.
Harris explained that libel laws can be used as inhibiting factors when an injunction is filed against media houses to muzzle them, whether the suit is justifiable or not. He said too that the government of Guyana is the only entity to successfully expand across the country in the areas of radio and television.
According to the Press Freedom Index, Guyana also remained one of the lowest ranked nations in the Caribbean: the only Caribbean nation which ranked lower than Guyana was the Dominican Republic at position #63 with an overall score of 27.31.
Caribbean countries which ranked higher than Guyana were Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, the Eastern Caribbean nations, and Haiti.
Jamaica was the only Caribbean country to be deemed to have a “good situation” at #9 out of the 180 countries. The Eastern Caribbean and Trinidad and Tobago were deemed to have satisfactory situations at #37 and #41 respectively, while Haiti was the first country in the “noticeable problems” category at #53.
The Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index ranks the performance of 180 countries according to a range of criteria that include media pluralism and independence, respect for the safety and freedom of journalists, and the legislative, institutional and infrastructural environment in which the media operate.
Overall decline
Worldwide, the World Press Freedom Index 2015 shows that freedom of information deteriorated in 2014. According to the report, wars, growing threats from non-state operatives, violence during demonstrations and economic crises have caused media freedom to retreat on all five continents.
The report further showed that two-thirds of the 180 countries surveyed had their performances decline in 2014 from 2013. The annual global indicator, which measures the overall level of violations of freedom of information in 180 countries year by year, has risen to 3,719, an eight percent increase over 2014 and almost 10 percent compared with 2013.
Despite the overall declines, the European Union and the Balkans remained as the region with the most press freedom. The region was followed by the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia respectively. North Africa and the Middle East was the region with the lowest recorded level of press freedom.
As usual, three Scandinavian countries topped the list: Finland, which has been in first place for five years in succession, followed by Norway and Denmark. At the other end of the scale, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea respectively were the worst performers.
Though there was overall decline, a handful of countries managed to make big leaps in ranking. The biggest jumper was Mongolia which rose 34 places to #54. Surprisingly, Guyana’s neighbour Brazil also made a huge jump; the country rose 12 places to #99. The rise was thanks to a less violent year in which two journalists were killed compared to five in 2014.
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