The worst offenders are all usual suspects, but I suspect the most attention will be garnered by the three countries that slipped from "free" to "partly free": Israel, Italy, and Hong Kong. Here's the explanation on Israel from the report's overview essay:
Israel, the only country in the [Middle East] to be consistently rated Free, moved into the Partly Free range due to the heightened conflict in Gaza, which triggered increased travel restrictions on both Israeli and foreign reporters; official attempts to influence media coverage of the conflict within Israel; and greater self- censorship and biased reporting, particularly during the outbreak of open war in late December.
Also, Sunday, May 3 is World Freedom of Press Day!
Update:
The report says Israel fell due to restrictions on journalists and official attempts to influence coverage during the conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The study says Italy slipped because the country is limiting free speech with libel laws and the intimidation of journalists by organized crime.
Freedom House says it downgraded Hong Kong because Beijing is exerting growing influence over the media there.
The executive director of Freedom House, Jennifer Windsor, says the journalism profession is fighting to stay alive, which she warns has enormous implications for democracy. "Declines have been registered in established democracies, as well as partly free countries, and the most repressive regimes have continued to tighten their grip in order to control the information flows that have become increasingly globalized and out of their control," she said.
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