Italy dropped 12 places to 61st in the Reporters Without Borders (RWB) press-freedom rankings for 2011, the France-based organisation said Wednesday.
Italy's fall "bears the marks of the old government" led by media magnate Silvio Berlusconi, RWB said in releasing the 179-nation standings.
"With the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi (Italy) has just closed the page on conflicts of interest," it claimed.
The United States fell from 20th to 47th after the arrests of journalists covering the Occupy Wall Street protests while France was 38th and Spain 39th, reflecting RWB Secretary-General Jean-Francois Julliard's view that "we have been severe towards those countries because we expect exemplary behaviour of them.
"The major democracies could have done better," he stressed.
RWB said conditions for press freedom could only be termed "good" in a handful of countries including Finland and Norway which were again tied for first and other high-rankers such as Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Canada.
Cape Verde became the first African country to make the top 10 as RWB said it showed "a real tolerance for journalists".
The situation was getting worse in several European countries, RWB said, with arrests of journalists rising along with raids on news outlets.
Greece, in 70th place, and Bulgaria, in 80th spot, were the lowest-ranking European countries.
Hungary, despite the recent approval of a controversial media-curbing law, was a surprisingly high 40th.
RWB said the situation was "getting better" in Tunisia, in 134th position, while Egypt, which has seen various episodes of violence against reporters, fell 39 places to 166th.
The lower reaches of the table were again filled by regular RWB bugbears such as Sudan, Yemen, Vietnam, Bahrain, China, Iran and Syria. The last three in the rankings were, again, Eritrea, Turkmenistan and North Korea.
"Repression was the watchword for 2011," RWB concluded.
"Acts of censorship and physical attacks on journalists have never been so numerous...(and) press freedom did not rhyme with democracy".
photo: RWB members demonstrating in Syria last year
Sono bellissimo...
Administrafan