Room for Improvement

摘要

Reporters without borders released its latest World Press Freedom Index last week, and the U.S. ranked an unimpressive 41st out of 180 countries-landing between Slovenia and Burkina Faso in West Africa. While that's better than being in the bottom half, we suppose, clearly this is a report card with room for improvement. The U.S.'s less-than-stellar position is based on a couple of troubling factors. One is what it tabs a government war on whistleblowers that leak information about surveillance activities linked to counterterrorism. Another is the absence of a federal shield law "guaranteeing [journalists'] right not to reveal their sources and other confidential work-related information."