Journalists Killed Worldwide

1/30/2006 - 6:00 AM PST

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The Committee to Protect Journalists (www.cpj.org) compiles details about journalists killed in the line of duty worldwide, issuing annual reports in January. The number of journalists killed each year�along with the locations and the circumstances�is the most widely cited barometer of press freedom.

� CPJ also compiles a statistical picture of the past decade to provide context and perspective. This data, updated each year, describes who is being killed and where. Here is some key data:

DEADLIEST COUNTRIES
1996-2005

Iraq: 60
Colombia: 28
Philippines: 26
Russia: 23
Sierra Leone: 16
India: 15
Bangladesh: 12
Serbia and Montenegro: 10
Afghanistan: 10
Mexico: 9
Algeria: 9

DEATHS BY YEAR

2005: 47
2004: 57
2003: 40
2002: 20
2001: 37
2000: 24
1999: 36
1998: 24
1997: 26
1996: 26

DECADE TOTAL: 337

DEMOGRAPHIC TRAITS
1996-2005

Female journalists: 19
Photographers and camera operators: 67
Radio journalists: 62
U.S. journalists: 9

DEATHS BY CIRCUMSTANCE
1996-2005

Murder: 237 (70.3 percent)
Crossfire in war: 67 (19.9 percent)
Reporting in other dangerous circumstances: 33 (9.8 percent) *

* Includes such things as street demonstrations and catastrophes.

MURDER'S BACK STORY
1996-2005

Murders with impunity: 202 (85.2 percent) **
Kidnapped before slain: 29 (12.2 percent)
Threatened before murdered: 61 (25.7 percent)

** Cases in which those who ordered killings have not been arrested and prosecuted.

Methodology

CPJ applies strict journalistic standards when investigating a death. They consider a case "confirmed" only if our research confirms or strongly suggests that a journalist was killed in direct reprisal for his or her work; in crossfire; or while carrying out a dangerous assignment. They do not include journalists who are killed in accidents�such as car or plane crashes�unless the crash was caused by hostile action (for example, if a plane were shot down or a car crashed trying to avoid gunfire).

They used only confirmed cases for their statistical analysis.

If the motives are unclear, but it is possible that a journalist was killed because of his or her work, CPJ classifies the case as "unconfirmed" and continues to investigate to determine the motive for the murder.

___________________

Please Pray for all journalists and support staff around the world who risk their lives to bring you the most up-to-date news as it happens. Without them, organizations like Catholic Online could not exist.

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Keywords

Journalist, Death, News, War, Iraq

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