CYRIL RAMAPHOSA
ONE of the most important features of an effective democracy is a free media. We should therefore be encouraged by the release last week of the latest World Press Freedom Index, in which South Africa significantly improved its ranking, moving up ten places from 35th in the world in 2022 to 25th this year.
The World Press Freedom Index, compiled annually by the organisation Reporters without Borders, assesses the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories. It looks at the environment in which media workers operate with respect to political conditions, legal frameworks, safety and economic and socio-cultural context.
The organisation defines press freedom as “the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal and social interference, and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety.”
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