By MARK PEARSON Follow @Journlaw
The international media freedom group Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF – Reporters Without Borders) has released its 2011-12 World Press Freedom Index and Australia has slipped 12 places from 18th to 30th among the 179 countries ranked.
That result and the organisation’s methodology deserve explanation and debate, which I offer in my article in Online Opinion today.
As RSF’s Australian correspondent for the past six years, I offer some insights on both fronts.
First I assess the factors contributing to Australia’s decline in its media freedom status since 2010.
Then I explain why the RSF ranking process is indicative rather than scientifically precise.
Interested? Read my piece in Online Opinion today.
© Mark Pearson 2012
Disclaimer: While I write about media law and ethics, nothing here should be construed as legal advice. I am an academic, not a lawyer. My only advice is that you consult a lawyer before taking any legal risks.
journlaw 
Dear Mark, thanks for your additional clarification regarding Austrialia and revealing yourself as correspondent for RSF, after six years.
I have a question : how can one find the integral dataset 2011 of the other countries RSF has based his ranking on? The data on the website of RSF regarding the countries rankings are very minimal, I’m trying to find more elobarated and updated information (scores for the 44 criteria, with explanation for each of these scores), but from the side of RSF I get no reply or relevant assistance, even after several telephone calls and mails. So may be you can give me an assist?
Dirk
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