Freedom of the Press - Micronesia (2007)

Status: Free
Legal Environment: 1 (of 30)
Political Environment: 8 (of 40)
Economic Environment: 11 (of 30)
Total Score: 20 (of 100)
(Lower scores = freer)

Article 4, Section 1, of the constitution states that no law may deny or impair freedom of expression, peaceable assembly, association, or petition; there are no specific safeguards for speech or the press. Free speech was generally respected by the government, and there were no documented attacks on the press. A lack of economic resources is the biggest constraint on Micronesian media. Micronesia has five newspapers; the broadest reaching is the state-owned Kaselehlie Press, which is published biweekly. In 2005, two new independent weeklies emerged, the Sinlaku Sun Times and Da Rohng, which have quickly earned a reputation as being critical of the government. There is also an online daily, the Mariana Variety. Each of the four state governments has a radio station that broadcasts in the local language; however, broadcasting was down for much of the year because of weather-related damages to equipment. The states of Pohnpei and Chuuk have commercial television, and Yap has a government-run television station. Foreign television is available via satellite. The internet is unrestricted by the government but was accessed by only 13 percent of the population in 2006.