This week marks two auspicious events. One year ago yesterday, I started work at the Embassy in Washington. Even aside from the mad dash to the airport in Moscow, the missed flights and unplanned but very pleasant stopover in Copenhagen, it was quite the day to remember.
It’s also World Press Freedom Day, the day on which we remind ourselves of the importance of media freedom, and of those less fortunate who live (and die) in countries where the media freedom many of us take for granted is, for now, only an aspiration.
One of my favourite places (so far) in my newly adopted city is the Newseum. It’s difficult to pick a favourite exhibit there, but I always find myself lingering at the Press Freedom Map, part of the News and Press Freedom Around the Globe gallery. I was there a couple of weeks ago, with some visiting friends, and found myself pondering, for the nth time, the real-life differences in the two countries I’d moved between a year ago – one bright red on the map, the other an encouraging shade of green – as indeed is the UK.
(Before I invite an onslaught of whataboutism, we’re not perfect. Reporters Sans Frontiers in its own ranking grades both the UK and US as ‘satisfactory’. We’re doing well but there’s always room for improvement.)
Talking of improvement, at the Newseum there was a man removing some of the countries’ pieces from the map, and replacing them with new ones of a different colour. Five countries – Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Thailand and Zambia — changed from “not free” to “partly free” this year, from red to yellow on the map. It’s encouraging to see media freedom taking a prominent role as countries re-affirm the rights of their citizens, whether through movements like the Arab Spring or through more gradual reforms.
I’ll end with a plea: If you’re in DC, visit the Newseum and take a look at the Journalists Memorial. Free media’s easy to take for granted, but sometimes there’s a price.
And while we’re on the subject of Days, happy Star Wars Day for tomorrow.