Quadriga - Journalists in Fear: The End of Press Freedom?

As they battle to hunt down stories, journalists themselves become the hunted - in war zones and in authoritarian regimes. But also in democracies.

Reporters Without Borders says press freedom is now under threat in more countries than ever before. But the spread of social media is bringing new hope. Bloggers are at the forefront in the battle for press freedom and democracy.

Are we witnessing the end of press freedom? Or will journalists always find new ways to get the story out?

What do you think? Contact us at quadriga(at)dw.com

Our guests:

Mona Kareem belongs to an bedoon-family from Kuweit. They are bedoon-jinsiyya, which means without nationality or stateless. Many bedoons fell through the cracks when Kuwait became independent in 1961. As a Blogger she reflects her situation and that of an estimated 10 mio. Stateless people worldwide. She thinks: “Journalism under authoritarianism becomes the best tool of resistance.”

Meera Jamal is a freelance journalist from Pakistan. She had to leave the country, because her life was endangered, due to her journalistic work. She believes: ''Journalism without the Press Freedom becomes more of a work of fiction and loses it contact with reality.''

Andreas Kluth is a german-american journalist and Berlin-based correspondent for the Economist. He says: “A French philosopher once said that every country gets the government it deserves. Today we know that every country also gets the press it deserves. Freedom of the press is today the first signal to freedom generally.”