According to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists released today, the number of journalists killed around the world hit a record high in 2009, following a November massacre in the Philippines that saw the deaths of 31 reporters.
The report finds that in 2009, 68 journalists have been killed worldwide, compared to 42 in 2008. This tops the previous high of 67 in 2007.
Iraq, which had been the most deadly country for journalists in recent years, dropped down to the number three spot in 2009, after the Philippine massacre. Somalia came in second with nine journalist deaths this year. Four were killed in Iraq this year.
CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said of the findings:
This has been a year of unprecedented devastation for the world’s media, but the violence also confirms long-term trends. Most of the victims were local reporters covering news in their own communities. The perpetrators assumed, based on precedent, that they would never be punished. Whether the killings are in Iraq or the Philippines, in Russia or Mexico, changing this assumption is the key to reducing the death toll.
The report also finds that of those journalists killed in 2009, 56% were print journalists, and all but two were local journalists.
