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Reporters without Borders just recently published the latest World Press Freedom Index 2018; and Peru occupies with position 88 of 180 listed countries a middle ranking globally and with position 6 out of 12 countries as well in South America.
According to Reporters without Borders “The Index ranks 180 countries according to the level of freedom available to journalists. It is a snapshot of the media freedom situation based on an evaluation of pluralism, independence of the media, quality of legislative framework and safety of journalists in each country. It does not rank public policies even if governments obviously have a major impact on their country’s ranking. Nor is it an indicator of the quality of journalism in each country.”
Main threats to media freedom in Peru include Peruvian defamation laws, which allow reporters to be prosecuted and punished with imprisonment for spreading news that might damage the honor or reputation of a person or company. So, covering topics such as corruption, misuse of state resources, mining-related problems and social conflicts as well as drug trafficking could be considered dangerous.
While the murder of journalists is rare in Peru, there are 100+ registered cases each year of press freedom violations including physical and verbal attacks, threats and harassment, administrative and judicial pressure, and obstructions.
Additionally, Reporters without Borders writes “Media ownership is very concentrated, above all in the hands of the El Comercio group, which maintains an extraordinary level of domination of the national print media and TV markets.”
Read the full Press Freedom Index 2018
South America ranking Press Freedom Index 2018
- Uruguay (position 20 globally)
- Surinam (position 21 globally)
- Chile (position 38 globally)
- Argentina (position 52 globally)
- Guyana (position 55 globally)
- Peru (position 88 globally)
- Ecuador (position 92 globally)
- Brazil (position 102 globally)
- Paraguay (position 107 globally)
- Bolivia (position 110 globally)
- Colombia (position 130 globally)
- Venezuela (position 143 globally)
Source: Reporters without Borders
