'No Country for Brave Journalists': US Plummets in Press Freedom Rankings

It may be the ‘country of the First Amendment,’ but the United States once again received an abysmal ranking from Reporters Without Borders, an international press monitoring and journalism advocacy group, in its annual review of how well nations protect the rights of individual journalists and overall press freedoms.

According to the , the U.S. rank fell from 32nd overall in 2013 to 46th this year, a drop of 13 places which the group said was was a reflection of the detrimental effect on journalism caused by the Obama administration’s “hunt for leaks and whistleblowers”—which was highlighted by the fallout over NSA disclosures made possible by Edward Snowden.

Attacks on journalists and individuals working to inform the public of government misdeeds, said the group’s report, has chilled dissent and journalism by issuing a de facto “warning to those thinking of satisfying a public interest need for information about the imperial prerogatives assumed by the world’s leading power. “

From the report:

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