Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released its 2017 annual report presenting its world press freedom ranking, this year Haiti is ranked 53rd out of 180 countries with a score of 26.36. In 2016, Haiti was also 53rd with a score of 24.66.

"Too few resources.

Despite recent changes in Haiti’s media freedom laws, journalists suffer from a cruel lack of financial resources, an absence of institutional support, and difficulty in accessing information. Journalists continue to be the victims of intimidation or physical violence. A devastating earthquake in 2010 and, more recently, Hurricane Matthew in 2016 inflicted a great deal of damage on Haiti’s already limited infrastructure.

The privately-owned media, which are heavily influenced by the interests of their shareholders, tend to censor themselves. Journalists will be exposed to heavy sanctions under a proposed defamation law that was approved by the senate in 2017," states RSF.

Note that our neighbor the Dominican Republic is ranked 59th with a score of 26.76.

"Self-censorship as a solution.

The concentration of media ownership in very few hands and a high level of impunity undermines freedom of information and encourage self-censorship in the Dominican Republic. Journalists who dare to tackle sensitive subjects such as corruption and drug trafficking are exposed to the possibility of threats and violent reprisals, or even murder by government officials or criminal cartel members. The repeal in 2016 of legislation under which journalists could be imprisoned for defamation was a major step forward for the media and democracy," stresses RSF.

HL/ HaitiLibre