Murder of reporters falls to a 14-year low — but that is not good news, says RSF
Paris — Sixty-five journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2017, according to annual figures published by Reporters Without Borders on Tuesday. Among them were 50 professional reporters, the lowest toll in 14 years. However, the downward trend is due at least in part to journalists giving up working in the world’s deadliest spots. War-torn Syria, where 12 reporters were killed, remained the most dangerous country in the world for journalists, said the organisation, known by its French acronym RSF. Syria was followed by Mexico, where 11 were assassinated. They included Javier Valdez, one of the most prominent chroniclers of Mexico’s deadly drug war, whose murder in May sparked a public outcry. The 50-year-old AFP contributor was shot dead in broad daylight in the street in the violent northwestern state of Sinaloa. His last book, Narco-journalism, recounted the tribulations of Mexican reporters who try to cover the country’s extremely violent "narcos" drug cartels. RSF...
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