America is not number one. Nor is it number five. Or even in the top 20. In a new report ranking press freedom around the world, the U.S. comes in at a cool 22, behind Latvia, Lithuania and a slew of Nordic countries. And for a country that tries to lead by example when it comes to democracy, 22 is not the greatest place to be in.
"It's not a good example that we're setting," says Andrew Alexander, chair of the Freedom of Information Committee of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. "When our government clamps down on the press, it gives license to other governments to do same."
Reporters Without Borders, an organization that tracks press freedom across the globe, released the report this month, placing Denmark at number one and North Korea last, at 167. The report used criteria like state censorship and harassment, murders and detentions of journalists. Each nation earns a score ranging from .50 (highest) to 107.5 (lowest). In 2002, the U.S. came in at number 16. This year, 21 nations earned scores higher than the U.S., although there are a lot of ties; the U.S. score puts it in 11th place, along with Belgium
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