Friday, December 18, 2009

68 Journalists killed in 2009


At least 68 journalists worldwide were killed for their work in 2009, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ) annual census.

The highest ever number recorded by the yearly report, the number of deaths in 2009 rose steeply after 31 media workers, including 29 journalists, were killed in the Philippines last month.

Other fatalities were the result of neglect or mistreatment during imprisonment for work-related charges and revenge attacks carried out by the subjects of investigative stories."This has been a year of unprecedented devastation for the world's media, but the violence also confirms long-term trends," says Joel Simon, CPJ executive director.

The new figures represent a 60 per cent rise in the death toll from the 42 deaths recorded in 2008. All but two of the victims in 2009 were local journalists and nine were freelancers, according to the census.