The Best - and Worst - Places to Be a Journalist

My sister sent me this article with the warning: "Choose wisely, my traveling sister." Based on the 2009 Press Freedom Index, this Time article summarizes the index's findings of which countries have the most - and least - press freedom. Following Obama's inauguration, the U.S. jumped up the list from 36th to 20th. Topping the list are Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Ireland. The bottom three slots are occupied by Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea where "the media are so suppressed they are non-existent." Other notable changes in this year's report include Europe losing three spots in the top 20, Israel facing increased censorship and five African countries making it into the top 50. The official Press Freedom Index 2009 can be found here.

And just for fun, while we are on the topic of countries censoring the press, I found this cartoon a few days ago that shows the emerging power of new media.