We use cookies on this website. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy and for us to access our cookies on your device.
Transcript/Script
USAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Press Freedom Democracy Ranking TV))
HEADLINE: War, Coups and Rollbacks of Civil Liberties Are Test for Democracies
TEASER: Freedom House: Amid overall global decline, world sees media freedoms under pressure in more than 150 countries
PUBLISHED AT: 03/09/2023 at 8:30AM
BYLINE: Veronica Balderas Iglesias
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE:
VIDEOGRAPHER: Saqib Ul Islam
VIDEO EDITOR: Veronica Balderas Iglesias
SCRIPT EDITORS: JJ, Bowman, SR
VIDEO SOURCE (S): Agencies, Skype, see script for others
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:31
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: FOR VOA Press Freedom))
((TV INTRO))
[[Is the fight for democracy at a turning point? Freedom House documents a global decline for the 17th consecutive year. One of the biggest concerns: media freedom. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias explains.]]
((NARRATOR))
As freedoms continued to decline globally for the seventeenth consecutive year in 2022, U.S. nonprofit Freedom House noted a positive trend: everyday citizens are demanding that their political and civil rights be preserved.
[[RADIO TRACK: Yana Gorokhovskaia is a co-author of the Freedom in the World Report. ]]
((Yana Gorokhovskaia, Freedom House)) ((Female, English))
“We continued to see that around the world in the most repressive environments. We see that in China, we see that in Cuba, we saw that in Iran last year.”
((NARRATOR))
Gorokhovskaia says that inadequate protections, intimidation and even violence against journalists has left media freedom at risk in at least 157 countries and territories.
((Yana Gorokhovskaia, Freedom House)) ((Female, English))
“They inform citizens, they hold the powerful to account. // So this is all really necessary for a healthy democracy.”
((NARRATOR))
She added that Russian censorship was particularly damaging when it came to reporting the war in Ukraine.
((Yana Gorokhovskaia, Freedom House)) ((Female, English))
“You couldn’t call the war ‘war.’ You couldn’t criticize the Russian military, and so as a result ,most Russian independent media left the country and has to be based elsewhere.”
((NARRATOR))
The repression has also discouraged ordinary citizens from seeking access to reliable sources of information – even through a VPN, for instance, says Ksenia Kirillova, an investigative journalist and analyst at The Jamestown Foundation.
((Ksenia Kirillova, The Jamestown Foundation)) ((Female/English)) ((Skype))
“If you just share any truthful information about the war, you can be arrested and can be put in jail.”
((NARRATOR))
The Freedom in the World Report — now in its fiftieth year — also highlighted declines in Burkina Faso and Myanmar.
[[RADIO TRACK: Freedom House's Yana Gorokhovskaia]]
((Yana Gorokhovskaia, Freedom House)) ((Female/English))
“We actually have seen people put to death in Myanmar for offering criticism of the coup and of the ruling military junta…
… We’re really seeing an unfortunate situation in Burkina Faso/because it means sort of almost a complete destruction of political institutions and people’s rights.”
((NARRATOR))
She noted that’s a sharp contrast to Colombia and Lesotho, which are among the 34 countries to show improvements.
((Yana Gorokhovskaia, Freedom House)) ((Female/English))
“One aspect of the bright spots we see are elections that are competitive and free.”
((NARRATOR))
The United States also has work to do in terms of combating polarization, something Gorokhovskaia called “worrying.”
((Yana Gorokhovskaia, Freedom House)) ((Female/English))
“But we also see efforts from both political parties to address that.”
((NARRATOR))
Amid a global struggle for democracy, Freedom House recommends governments make human rights a priority, including in bilateral engagements.
((Veronica Balderas Iglesias, VOA News, Washington))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMarch 9, 2023 08:25 EST
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English