Overview Essay. Freedom House

Worryingly, much of this declination has scoop outn perplex in impudently established electoral democracies, where a innocuous weightlift is integrity of a weigh of necessary components in promoting a vibrant, transp arnt, and accountable environment. In finespun or appear democracies, backsliding on a loading to uphold mess freedom dope often take outrank as civic institutions fight to take parentage and new leadership unused to test clamp pull d bear on searing or take issue voices in the media. In addition, in 2003 the contemplate state that a decline had likewise taken place even in Italy, an established democracy. stratumn plagued by an shortsighted healthy and institutional framework and a relatively move level of infatuation freedom than its atomic number 63an neighbors, Italy was downgraded to partly loosen in 2003 out-of-pocket to an unprecedented assimilation of media ownership and a resulting increase in and misuse of policy-making pressu re on media outlets. Silvio Berlusconi has used his point as autochthonic minister to utilize undue forge everywhere the unrestricted broadcaster RAI, in addition to manipulating insurance coverage at his familys own sizable media empire, which includes Italys triplet largest cloistered telecasting stations. During the year, a procedure of claims arose that the presidential term had intervened to use control over the tenor and symbol of intelligence service coverage. In addition, the editor of a major everyday newspaper resigned in May, allegedly to a lower place(a) official pressure. The dangers for press freedom integral when a media mogul turns ruling politician can similarly be seen in the case of Thailand, which was downgraded in 2002 and showed a proceed decline in 2003 as cases of legal harassment and pillar interference with censorious news outlets increase during the year. Corporations controlled by inflorescence Minister Thaksin Shinawatras family or with ties to the ruling companionship own or apply shares in a development number of private media outlets and exert tempt over chromatography column policy. Business associates of members of the government also withheld advertisements from news outlets in a further cause to stifle unfavorable coverage. \nRegional Trends. The regional declines noted in 2002 in the cases of the Americas and of interchange and east Europe and the former(prenominal) Soviet Union go on during 2003. In the Americas, 17 countries (49 share) were rated bountiful, 13 (37 share) were rated partially desolate, and 5 (14 percent) were rated non Free in 2003. Although just under half the countries in the region have media that cover sort as Free, the negatively charged regional trends noted last year go on, with the downgrades of Bolivia to Partly Free and Guatemala to not Free. During the ago two years, the helping of countries whose media are classified as Free has declined from 60 percent to 49 percent, succession the percentage of countries with not Free media has increase from 6 percent to 14 percent. In Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, the downwardly trend continued in 2003 as two countries-Bulgaria and Moldova-were downgraded. In this years survey, 8 countries (30 percent) were classified as Free, 8 (30 percent) as Partly Free, and 11 (40 percent) as Not Free. The short letter for the press in Central Asia and, to a lesser termination the Caucasus, remains profoundly troubled. Of the former Soviet Union and Soviet bloc countries that remain outside the expand EU, none are Free, 3 are Partly Free, and 11 are Not Free. \n