Latin America & the Caribbean

Panama

{This graph represents scores that have been modified by CIMA so that higher scores indicate a better media situation. It is intended to show trends over time; each index measures significantly different factors of press freedom. To see an explanation for how this graph was created, click here.}

Freedom House Score: 44 (Partly Free)	[Freedom House Methodology]
{Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 100}

RSF Score: 21.83	[RSF Methodology]
{Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to ~120}

Reporters Without Borders Description:

Like neighbouring Costa Rica, Panama stands out as an exception in Central America, which is notoriously dangerous. Cases of assaults against journalists are extremely rare. But although the country is much safer than Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador, a photographer on the daily El Siglo, Eliecer Santamaria, was killed in April 2008.

Reasons for concern within the profession are more likely to come from the sometimes tense relations with the authorities, which are at the root of official or judicial abuses. This was the case in September 2008, when a court ordered seizure of the property and bank accounts of El Periodico, on the request of businessman Herman Bern, who had been named in the weekly in a case of false tax statements. The legal authorities can have long memories and are ready to hound journalists.

Latin America & the Caribbean

Panama

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