World Press Freedom Day 2024 - Spotlight on Press Freedom, Threats and Progress

The World Press Freedom Day Conference 2024

  • The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) marked the World Press Freedom Day Conference on 3rd May 2024.
  • On this occasion, a concerning report was released illustrating the rise in violence against environmental journalists worldwide.
  • The report highlighted that over a period of 15 years, 44 environmental journalists have been
  • The highest number of these persecutions took place in the Asia and Pacific region.

Overview of the World Press Freedom Index (WPFI)

  • The World Press Freedom Index is an annual report curated by global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
  • The index started publishing in 2002 by the France-based NGO and specifically focuses on press freedom across countries.
  • The report does not evaluate the quality of journalism or broader human rights violations within the countries it assesses.
  • The grading system includes five key categories: political context, legal framework, economic context, socio-cultural context, and

India's Status in the World Press Freedom Index 2024

  • India's ranking showed some improvement, moving two spots up from 161 in 2023 to 159 out of 180 countries in 2024.
  • However, despite the upward shift, India's overall score witnessed a decline from 36.62 to 31.28, indicating a decrease in press freedom.
  • The report underlined that all categories, excluding security, showed a drop in scores.
  • The restrictions press freedom face in India, the world's largest democracy, came to light with the detention of 9 journalists and 1 media worker since January 2024.
  • A number of laws such as the Telecommunications Act 2023, the Draft Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill 2023, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 have been highlighted for extensively regulating media and censoring news, threatening the independence of the media.

Overview of the Global Scores in World Press Freedom Index

  • In the 2024 report, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden retained their positions at the top, ranking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively.
  • On the other side of the spectrum, Eritrea was listed as having the least press freedom, followed closely by Syria.

In summary, World Press Freedom Day and the related Index draws attention to the importance of maintaining freedom of speech and safety for journalists globally. While some countries have shown progress, others still continue to exhibit declines, indicating the urgent need for initiatives to protect press freedom and journalists around the world.