Reporters Without Borders 2014 press freedom barometer for the Dominican Republic reports zero journalists and media assistants have been killed this year in the country. The number remains at zero for the number of journalists, media assistants, and netizens imprisoned. These numbers or lack thereof do not reflect the fragility of freedom of information in the Dominican Republic. Journalists who so much as even attempt to report on hot topics such as government corruption and drug trafficking in the country are met with threats to their lives and acts of retaliation towards their investigative reporting. The threats to journalists come from powerful drug cartels, the country’s government, and law enforcement officials as well. Journalists …show more content…
The breakdown of the Dominican Republic’s various media outlets is as follows: “the country has two government owned television stations, five independent national daily newspapers, more than 300 radio stations, 40 terrestrial and cable television stations, and an English publication that is accessible online.” In the U.S., media is under privately owned. And of course, we have NPR and PBS which are financed by the government and private entities. In the Dominican Republic, the majority of the media in the country is independently owned, however monopolization has become a problem with ownership resting in the palms of a select few business honchos who are extremely influential in the political stream. Self-censorship and journalistic ethics affect journalists in the United States and also affect the Dominican Republic because of the concentration of …show more content…
Going over the PEN America report was eye opening and quite alarming. A lot of journalists are genuinely fearful, believing that their constant contact with sources or research they conduct is being monitored and recorded. This fear leads to a change in behavior and writing, and it is where self-censorship, mediocre journalism, and lack of freedom of expression comes in. When we talk about the things they have to endure, journalists in the U.S. are many times placed on government watch lists, and searched for drugs or explosives when they fly. As a journalist, if you make the decision to make information public that will get in the way of our countries advancement or shine light on one of our enemies, you will