Reporters without Borders just released the 2008 Worldwide Press Freedom Index and Kuwait came first among Arab countries ahead of both Lebanon and UAE. It isn’t really a surprise since the top spot is usually always a fight between Kuwait and Lebanon but when Kuwait wins it always feels more impressive. [Link]
18 replies on “Kuwait tops Arab countries in the 2008 Press Freedom Index”
UAE ? you must be joking .. 🙂
That’s really promising.
Al Seyasah FTW
I hope this blessing continues. We are very lucky.
well God Lord, finaly there’s somthin positive in the middle of these financial crises :p
Its because no one gets blown up in Kuwait. lol.
Would you like to be the frist? 😀
I keed, I keed.
Get me back to Kuwait and then go for it ;P
I wonder how much they paid them just to be on top… lol.
aziz… that was lame
Actually it’s always been one of the things that set us apart from the rest of the Arab world and especially the GCC… but then I wonder if the free press is simply a channel for us to vent our many frustrations. Because in the end, we criticize freely, safe in the knowledge that we won’t get arrested…. but does anyone up there listen or change?
Zaydoun:
While this is nice it gives no indication of the actual quality of the journalism provided. Does Kuwait journalism break new stories for the betterment of the population as a whole?
Not quite.
BOO-YA! IN YOUR FACE REST OF THE GCC, IN YOUR FUCKING UNPHOTOGENIC FACES.
I think Kuwait has always been on the forefront when it comes to the freedom of the press. It’s not out of the blue news. Standing alone, it’s something to be grateful for… regardless of whatever people want to dish out as side complaints.
And as Mark said, when Kuwait wins it’s always more impressive. Couldn’t be any true-er. 🙂
I dont know much about that… when I was a journalist for (censored) newspaper, I wrote a bad review for a bad restaurant called (censored) and the owner of which called in and demanded we print an apology otherwise he would sue me for damages. The newspaper said they couldn’t do anything about it, and that freedom of press doesn’t hold strong in court here… and that I would probably lose the case… I didn’t write an apology, but I quit that job…
I hope this ranking is true and that freedom of press is a bit stronger now…
If that was the case, I bet the newspapers was floppy (and small) to begin with. After all, who cares about reviews in newspapers. I mean it’s very dependent on taste, out of the humongous spectrum of taste that’s out there.
it is called auto-censorship!! Do you seriously think you can publish anything you want in the press… What a joke.
It’s always bought when you don’t like the results.
Good for Kuwait! Unfortunately, press freedom and this sense of a liberated media space does not reflect or translate into equal and/or greater freedom of expression through art, music, theatre, cinema and literature. Change will come(for the better) but at a much slower pace I think than in the Emirates or Oman. On a side note, I feel strongly Kuwait is better off looking to Oman rather than the Emirates for lessons in nation building.