US up two spots to 42nd on global press freedom list

The United States has moved up two spots on the World Press Freedom Index, according to the group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The press freedom group, which offers an annual assessment of the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories, said on Tuesday the United States came in 42nd in terms of a free press. Last year, the U.S. came in 44th place.

“After four years of President Trump constantly denigrating the press, President Biden signaled his administration’s desire to see the US reclaim its global status as a model from freedom of expression, thus reinstating regular White House and federal agency press briefings,” the group wrote in its U.S. fact file.

“Despite these efforts, many of the underlying, chronic issues impacting journalists remain unaddressed by the authorities – including the disappearance of local news, the polarisation of the media or the weakening of journalism and democracy caused by digital platforms and social networks.”

RSF added that journalists in the U.S. are also facing physical threats in the line of duty.

“In the US, in recent years, journalists have had to work in dangerous conditions and have faced an unprecedented climate of animosity and aggression during protests, where unprovoked physical attacks occurred on clearly identified reporters,” it said. “There is a troubling trend of journalists experiencing harassment, intimidation and assault in the field.”

Global polarization in media, the organization said, “is feeding and reinforcing internal social divisions in democratic societies such as the United States despite president Joe Biden’s election.”

“The increase in social and political tension is being fuelled by social media and new opinion media, especially in France,” it continued.

Over the weekend at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, Biden praised reporters covering the war in Ukraine and other catastrophes around the globe.