OECS FALLS STEEPLY IN WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX

The countries and territories of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States have fallen steeply in the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, RSF.
The OECS ranks 93 out of 180 countries, with one indicating a favourable ranking and 180 being poor.
This is a precipitous fall of 38 places from the 55th place it occupied in last year’s index.
The report says: “the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States has struggled to maintain a strong press freedom record despite editorial censorship and growing political influence.”
The report also says: “while the news industry has experienced a phase of economic growth, journalists are generally poorly trained and often abandon their profession because of very low salaries, an issue that mostly affects women in the region.”