Margaret Sullivan at The Washington Post:
At least 274 journalists were in prison during 2020, the most since the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists began keeping track in the early 1990s. More than 20 journalists were killed last year for doing their jobs. “It’s as bad as it’s ever been,” said Joel Simon, CPJ’s executive director. “The fight ahead is a very long fight. He predicts “a Cold War-length struggle over decades for the protections of essential freedoms.” This week, the global organization Reporters Without Borders put out a new list, its first since 2016, of “press freedom predators” — 37 heads of state or governments who crack down on press freedom in various ways, from censorship to jailing journalists to inciting violence against them. For the first time, the list includes a European leader, Viktor Orbán of Hungary. It’s also the first time that female heads of state have joined the list — Carrie Lam of Hong Kong and Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh.