<h5>Why is freedom of the press important?</h5>  <p>The press refers to newspapers, magazines, TV and radio channels, websites, etc. that publish and broadcast news and events.</p>
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<p>It’s the job of the press to collect important information and show it to the people in a manner that they understand - just like we do for you! The press is usually referred to as one of the four pillars of democracy. It’s their duty to seek accountability from everyone (even the government!).</p>
<p>Many times the information the press wants to publish is not something that powerful organisations/ individuals of a country want you to know. The press’s ability to publish such information is called freedom of the press or free press. 
</p> <h5>Can you share an example of a free press in action?</h5>  <p>In 1987, a young journalist named Chitra Subramaniam made shocking discoveries about a Swedish weapon company called Bofors. She found that Bofors bribed officials of the Indian government to get a lucrative deal. Subramaniam’s revelations led to the fall of the Government led by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. </p>
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<p>Since the Bofors issue, there’s been numerous other scams and scandals in the country. Each time, brave reporters have risked their safety to bring us these stories.</p>
<p>So, you see, it’s extremely important that every country gets to enjoy a free press. If it weren't for a free press, we would never find out about recent scams, scandals and other things which the public should know about. 
</p> <h5>What’s the World Press Freedom Index?</h5>  <p>The World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) is essentially a report card that rates the freedom levels enjoyed by the press in 180 countries around the world.</p>
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The WPFI is published by a Paris-based organisation called Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF). They study a lot of data and information coming out of each country to determine the level of freedom enjoyed by its press. The report is published on 3rd of May each year, which is the World Press Freedom Day.
</p> <h5>Which are the best and the worst-performing countries on the WPFI 2022?</h5>  <p>The countries with the highest levels of press freedom are Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Finland.</p>
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<p>The countries with the poorest levels of press freedom are North Korea, Eritrea, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Myanmar.</p>
<p>Here’s an interesting observation! Some of the countries with the best freedom of the press also feature high on the list of the happiest countries in the world. The countries that have the worst freedom of the press are also some of the saddest countries in the world.
</p> <h5>How did India perform on the WPFI 2022?</h5>  <p>India ranked 150 in a list of 180 countries. For a nation that claims to be the world’s largest democracy, this is quite sad. A democracy is defined by the freedom its people and its press enjoy. India has been steadily ranking worse and worse on the WPFI for the last few years. In 2016, it ranked 133. In 2021, it ranked 142. In 2022, it ranked 150.
RSF said that one of the reasons India ranked so low on the WPFI was because of the violence faced by journalists from the police and criminal groups.
Even if our rank in the WPFI is bad, we have some of the bravest and most heroic reporters in India. They carry on doing their job despite intimidation. They speak truth to power and fight courageously. We are lucky to have them.
Do you want to be a journalist when you grow up?</p>

Each year, the World Press Freedom Index ranks countries based on how free their press is. Let’s find out what the report says about India this year.

India Falls In the World Press Index Ranking

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