In some countries, being a journalist is a very dangerous occupation to engage in. And three of the countries at the moment which are said to be the deadliest place for a reporter to be working today are Somalia, Afghanistan, and Mexico.

Reports Without Borders releases annual reports about killings of journalists around the world and it was found that for 2016, at least 74 professional and non-professional journalists had been murdered.

Some other dangerous countries for journalists are places like Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, Burundi, Iraq, and Syria.

Nearly three quarters of all journalists who lost their lives last year are said to have been deliberately murdered.

Other organizations have different estimates. For example, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) estimates that there were only 48 deaths for journalists in 2016. And they point out Syria as being the most dangerous for last year, followed by Iraq, and then Yemen.

Another organization,the International News Safety Institute, estimates that there were at least 115 deaths of journalists in 2016.

Other reports, like that from the NY Times this week, suggest that Mexico is the deadliest country at the moment for journalists, with at least 9 killed there last year.

Because there are conflicting reports it is difficult to know the exact number that lost their lives, but at least we can get a fair estimate of what countries might pose an extra risk to those engaged in this sort of occupation.

Whenever it gets too difficult for journalists to do work in these places, they often leave for their own safety and that then leaves a black hole of information; because there aren't enough honest voices reporting on what is going on. Many journalists in these countries also sensor themselves because they are afraid of being targeted for speaking the truth.

In Mexico, you might assume that the majority of killings are carried out by cartel assassins who are triggered by news coverage they don't like. However, the majority of the murders are said to be due to corrupt public officials who want to silence opposition. Government data suggests that mayors and police officers have engaged in threatening journalists more than drug cartels and other criminals in that country.

Journalists have been tortured and killed because of orders given by mayors, local officials, and police officers.

In Mexico alone, over the past decade, there have been hundreds of cases of harassment, assault, and homicide. But of course this isn't the only country that poses a risk to those engaging in journalism. And despite the stats which suggest a problem, Mexican officials maintain that there is still freedom of expression in the country and they say that full investigations take place on any attacks toward the media.

Crime and corruption aren't an issue only for Mexico, but it is an issue the world over. And honest journalists provide a great value to the market because they provide the people with the truth that they might not otherwise have been exposed to.

Of course the U.S. itself isn't without its own criticisms when it comes to how authority figures treat some journalists. They've been pepper-sprayed, unjustly detained, and some even suggest that they too have been silenced because of their reporting. This is suggested because of controversial incidents like that with a journalist shooting themselves twice in the head to commit suicide, or others having their car mysteriously burst into flames after they sent communications suggesting that they were onto a big story.

Despite the problems in the US though, it's arguably a much safer profession to engage in unfavorable journalism within the US than it is to do so in other countries.

According to UNESCO, it's estimated that one journalist is killed every week on average around the world.

Pics:
Pixabay
Sources:
https://cpj.org/killed/2016/
https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2017/jan/09/115-journalists-killed-in-2016-simply-for-doing-their-jobs
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/29/world/americas/veracruz-mexico-reporters-killed.html
https://rsf.org/en/news/2016-round-74-journalists-killed-worldwide
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/02/18/being-a-journalist-in-mexico-is-getting-even-more-dangerous/?utm_term=.47f0b1b9d596
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/04/asia/philippines-deadly-for-journalists/