We analyzed the media freedom indexes of Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders to determine which areas they focus on and which they omit. We also assessed the degree to which these indexes are appropriate for measuring media freedom in democratic countries. We concluded that these instruments –with their focus on violence against journalists and government constraints on media– are more appropriate for assessments in non-democratic countries than for understanding the subtle problems of democracies, often related to the media ownership structure, media’s dependence on advertising, self-censorship, and the scant presence of citizen voices. The instruments examined reduce freedom of expression to its negative dimension: freedom from government interference, ignoring positive freedom that is the universal right to free speech.
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At the same time, extra-academic indexes are very influential in the public debate over the quality of democracy and freedom of expression. This article critically analyzes the methodologies to assess media freedom used by Reporters Without Borders (RWB) and Freedom House, two of the best known and internationally quoted indexes on the matter (Becker, Vlad, & Nusser, 2007; Burgess, 2010; Holtz-Bacha, 2004; Behmer, 2011). Specifically, Chile and Poland are taken as cases of democracies to test how the assessment through these dominating indexes works for those countries.
Furthermore, this article compares the conclusions about the methodologies of RWB and Freedom House with an examination of media indicators suggested by the cross-national and longitudinal academic project “Varieties of Democracy” (V-Dem). The “Media Development Indicators”, proposed by UNESCO, is also considered as a broader and more complex model to inquire about the media systems and the freedom of
Key words: …show more content…
At the same time, extra-academic indexes are very influential in the public debate over the quality of democracy and freedom of expression. This article critically analyzes the methodologies to assess media freedom used by Reporters Without Borders (RWB) and Freedom House, two of the best known and internationally quoted indexes on the matter (Becker, Vlad, & Nusser, 2007; Burgess, 2010; Holtz-Bacha, 2004; Behmer, 2011). Specifically, Chile and Poland are taken as cases of democracies to test how the assessment through these dominating indexes works for those countries.
Furthermore, this article compares the conclusions about the methodologies of RWB and Freedom House with an examination of media indicators suggested by the cross-national and longitudinal academic project “Varieties of Democracy” (V-Dem). The “Media Development Indicators”, proposed by UNESCO, is also considered as a broader and more complex model to inquire about the media systems and the freedom of