The Freedom House rankings for press freedom for 2009 are now out [h/t Michele].
Italy drops to 73rd place, loses ‘Free’ status. The headline for the press release says that this is the first time Italy has lost ‘Free’ status. Not so This is the second time Italy has suffered this fate– it was also judged ‘partly free’ from 2002 to 2004, again with Berlusconi in office.
Probably the headline must be read as “Global Press Freedom Declines in Every Region for First Time – Israel, Italy and Hong Kong Lose Free Status”. The main text explains that Italy is “slipping back”, etc. Bad news in any case.
Link | May 2nd, 2009 at 10:17 am