US Press not that free?
Reporters Without Borders press freedom index
The first worldwide index of press freedom has some surprises for Western democracies. The United States ranks below Costa Rica.
Right at the top of the list four countries share first place – Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands.
The poor ranking of the United States (17th) is mainly because of the number of journalists arrested or imprisoned there. Arrests are often because they refuse to reveal their sources in court. Also, since the 11 September attacks, several journalists have been arrested for crossing security lines at some official buildings
The five countries with least press freedom are North Korea, China, Burma, Turkmenistan and Bhutan.