Freedom of the Press 2008 - Micronesia

Status: Free
Legal Environment: 2 (of 30)
Political Environment: 8 (of 40)
Economic Environment: 11 (of 30)
Total Score: 21 (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. In September, 12 media executives gathered to form the Micronesian Media Association. The organization aims to promote journalistic freedom and the public's access to information. 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. Two independent weeklies, the Sinlaku Sun Times and Da Rohng, have 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. Two new religiously affiliated radio stations were launched in 2007. 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 2007.