CPJ's 10 Most Censored Countries

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 3 May 2012

The Committee to Protect Journalists has named Eritrea as the world’s most censored country in its updated analysis of press restrictions. North Korea, Syria and Iran follow on CPJ’s list, reflecting severe limits on independent reporting and access to information.

Summary

NEW YORK:Shutting out international media and imposing dictatorial controls on domestic coverage, the Horn of Africa nation of Eritrea has emerged as the world's most censored country, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found in its newly updated analysis of press restrictions around the globe.

Following closely on CPJ's 10 Most Censored Countries list are North Korea, Syria, and Iran—three nations where vast restrictions on information have enormous implications for geopolitical and nuclear stability. No foreign reporters are granted access to Eritrea, and all domestic media are controlled by the government.

Ministry of Information officials direct every detail of coverage: “Every time (a journalist) had to write a story, they arrange for interview subjects and tell you specific angles you have to write on,” an exiled Eritrean journalist told CPJ, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

“We usually wrote lots about the president so that he's always in the limelight.” So when President IsaiasAfewerki dropped out of public view for a time last month, his citizens and the international community were left with only rumors about his well-being.

North Korea, which topped CPJ's previous list of most censored countries, published in 2006, remains an extraordinarily secretive place with nearly all domestic news content supplied by the official Korean Central News Agency. Read more here: http://www.cpj.org/reports/2012/05/10-most-censored-countries.php

KEY POINTS:

• CPJ places Eritrea at No. 1 on its updated list of the world’s most censored countries.
• Eritrea bars foreign reporters and keeps domestic media under government control.
• Ministry of Information officials are said to direct coverage and story angles in Eritrea.
• North Korea remains highly secretive, with news dominated by the state’s Korean Central News Agency.
• Syria and Iran also rank among the top censored countries cited by CPJ.