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International Communication Gazette
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An Evaluation of Press Freedom Indicators

Lee B. Becker

Department of Journalism of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia; James M. Cox Jr Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research; Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA lbbecker{at}uga.edu

Tudor Vlad

James M. Cox Jr Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research; Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA tvlad{at}uga.edu

Nancy Nusser

School of Media Arts and Design, James Madison University, Harrisonberg, VA 22807, USA nnussernl{at}jmu.edu

Despite uncertainties about the popular measures f media freedom, no systematic analyses have been undertaken of their development, of the assumptions that lie behind their different methodologies, of the reliability of the resultant measures, or of the consistency of conclusions across the different measures. This article examines four measures, by Freedom House, Reporters sans frontières, IREX and the Committee to Protect Journalists, and finds considerable consistency in the measurement. In addition, the Freedom House measure, which has been in existence for more than 20 years, varies in meaningful ways across time. The article examines the conceptual implications of these findings and offers suggestions for their use by researches in the future.

Key Words: media freedom • media independence • media reform • press freedom • press freedom indicators

International Communication Gazette, Vol. 69, No. 1, 5-28 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1748048507072774
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