• Where did journalists die on the job in 2002?
• How many journalists died on the job in 2002?
• Where are journalists being held in prison?
• What are the 10 worst places to be a journalist?
• Fast facts

Introduction
Journalists are protected from harassment or harm while they're on the job -- at least on paper. Key international agreements outline these protections. Article 19 of the 1949 Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes freedom of expression as well as the right to disseminate information and ideas through any media and across any borders. In 1977, the Geneva conventions clarified the distinction between combatants and journalists who cover armed conflicts. The conventions state that journalists are to be accorded the status of civilians in conflict zones and that reporters accompanying combatants into battle should not be treated as soldiers or spies. In theory, then, these and other international agreements entitle journalists to work freely, whether in a war zone or during times of peace, both at home and abroad.

But keeping reporters out of trouble is no simple matter. Every year, dozens of journalists die on the job. Some simply are caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, as in the case of photographer William Biggart, who died while covering the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. Other journalists are deliberately targeted by governments or groups seeking to silence them through intimidation, imprisonment or assassination. Such abusive treatment is rare within the United States, but more prevalent abroad. The abduction and brutal murder of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl in Pakistan in February 2002 is a sobering reminder of the hazards faced by journalists around the world.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Pearl was one of 13 journalists killed worldwide in 2002. In 2001, the CPJ documented 37 killings. In many parts of the world, it's still quite dangerous to be a working journalist. As New York Times correspondent William A. Orme Jr. wryly observed, "It might be prudent for a reporter in such situations to keep a Kevlar-coated copy of the Geneva conventions in the left breast pocket."

The charts below shows the dangers faced by journalists worldwide.

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Source Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), and International Press Institute (ISI)

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It is important to note that due to hard-to-find facts, conflicting reports and, at times, official misinformation, it is difficult to accurately track the number of journalists who have died on the job. Therefore the answer often depends on which organization is doing the counting. Each of the following well-known press freedom organizations uses different criteria to come up with their figures. Here are their tallies and information on how each one comes up with its numbers.

• Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) - 19
The CPJ is a New York-based organization that documents abuses against the press, including censorship, imprisonment and murder. It lists only journalists who multiple sources confirm were killed in retribution for their reporting or who died while on dangerous assignments.

• Reporters sans Frontières(RSF) - 26
The French organization RSF monitors press freedom worldwide through an international network of more than 100 representatives. This group counts, in addition to known murders and accidents, killings that appear deliberate or suspicious.

• International Press Institute (IPI) - 54
The IPI, based in Vienna, has opposed infringements on journalists' freedoms for more than 50 years. Its figure includes some accidental and suspicious deaths that governments with poor records of press freedom have officially declared random crimes or suicides

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Source/notes
Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF). According to RSF, the journalists listed as prisoners were still in prison as of March 10, 2003.

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Afghanistan
Eight journalists were killed during the U.S. campaign against the Taliban; U.S. military forces also prevented journalists from covering their activities in the field.

Belarus
Journalists are subjected to Soviet-style repression and harassment.

Burma
Widespread censorship prevails, with government control over all publishing and Internet access.

Colombia
Twenty-nine journalists have been killed in the past decade; reporters also are harassed by left-wing guerrillas and right-wing paramilitaries.

Cuba
Journalists are harassed, intimidated and jailed; one journalist convicted of "disrespecting" Fidel Castro has been in prison since 1997.

Eritrea
More than a dozen reporters have been imprisoned; independent press has been banned since September 2001.

Iran
Nearly 50 publications have been shut down since 2000; journalists also have been put on trial and jailed for their work.

Kyrgyzstan
The threat of terrorism is used to curb independent media; also, libel suits are used to bankrupt newspapers.

West Bank
The Israeli army intimidates and occasionally fires at journalists; Palestinian militants also harass journalists.

Zimbabwe
More than 50 journalists have been detained since 2000, and some have been tortured; reporters also are attacked by police and by government supporters.

Source/notes
Committee to Protect Journalists. The "worst places" list was announced by CPJ in May 2002 and is based on events that took place in 2001 and the first half of 2002.

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• According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 389 journalists were killed on the job between 1991 and 2001.

• Reporting in wartime is less dangerous than delivering the news and expressing views. Of all journalists killed in the last decade, only 16 percent were killed in combat, whearas 77 percent were murdered in retribution for their work.

• Most murderers of journalists get away with it. During the past decade, the killing of a journalist led to an arrest and trial in only 6 percent of all cases.

• Reporters carrying cameras or microphones are more vulnerable to attack than are print reporters. More than half of the journalists killed in 2002 were television reporters, photographers or radio reporters.

• Journalists from the United States are among the safest in the world, both at home and abroad. Local reporters working in countries with weak law enforcement or violent conflicts face the greatest risks of being harmed with impunity.

Source
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

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By Dave Gilson
Dave Gilson is a journalist based in Berkeley, Calif.