USA MAKES DEBUT ON LIST OF DEADLIEST NATIONS FOR JOURNALISTS

According to Reporters Without Borders, the United States for the first time is listed in the top six most deadliest nations in the world, for journalists. The US is accompanied by countries like Mexico, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and India. According to the report, 80 journalists worldwide were killed in 2018 with several being here in the United States - reported that 61% of those killed were targeted because of their work. In the early months of this year, in Maryland, a newspaper office (The Capital) deliberately became a target of a gunman who shot and killed five journalists in cold-blood; the murderer claimed that the paper defamed him after the paper covered a court-case in which he was involved in. Several other journalists in the US were killed by natural causes while covering a hurricane. The report also highlights that world wide, the number of journalists killed has increased, drastically, and the amount of hostility toward the members of the press as also increased tremendously; parallel to the number of journalists taken hostage, as well. Afghanistan tops the list with 13 journalists killed being the most deadliest place for the press, world wide. The press watchdog secretary general, Christophe Deloire, stated, "The hatred of journalists that is voiced, and sometimes very openly proclaimed, by unscrupulous politicians, religious leaders, and businessmen has tragic consequences on the ground and has been reflected in this disturbing increase in violations against journalists."

Most recently, a worldwide story of a journalist from the Washington Post and a general manager of the Al-Arab News Channel, was murdered at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul - which has raised serious questions about the Saudi Crown Prince and his involvement in the murder. A bipartisan resolution from the US Senate, put the blame for the death of the journalist directly on the Saudi Crown Prince.

In 2017, only 34 journalists were singled out for murder, almost doubling in 2018.