FOTP 2013 Full Report

distribution channels throughout the country, creating high barriers to entry for new publications.The editorial positions of outlets owned by both El Mercurio and Copesa are considered centerrightto right-wing in orientation. Advocates of media pluralism worried that the government’sdecision in September 2012 to close the online publication La Nación, in which the state held a70 percent share, would further concentrate media ownership. Its print edition had already beenclosed in 2010. Chile’s broadcast television landscape is more diversified, with seven nationwidefree-to-air channels, though rumors that the state television network Televisión Nacional wouldsoon be privatized sparked concern about increased concentration in that sector as well. In Chile,state-owned media have a higher degree of editorial independence than elsewhere in LatinAmerica, and offer a contrast to commercial news media output.In radio, implementation of a 2010 law facilitating the reallocation of frequencies tocommunity radio broadcasters has been hindered by Spanish-owned market giant IberoamericanaRadio Chile, which in August 2012 resisted signing an agreement with the state to rationalizefrequencies, thereby leaving the matter to the courts.There are no government restrictions on the internet, which was accessed by more than61 percent of the population in 2012, and there were no verified reports of the governmentmonitoring journalists’ electronic communications without judicial oversight.ChinaStatus: Not FreeLegal Environment: 29Political Environment: 32Economic Environment: 22Total Score: 83Survey Edition 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Total Score, Status 84,NF 85,NF 84,NF 85,NF 85,NFChina’s media environment remained one of the world’s most restrictive in 2012. Constraints onprint media were especially tight in advance of a sensitive leadership transition in November,and several journalists were dismissed or demoted for violating censorship discipline. Internetusers who disseminated information deemed undesirable by the ruling Chinese Communist Party(CCP) continued to face punishment, with dozens of cases of harassment, detention, orimprisonment documented during the year. Meanwhile, conditions in Tibetan areas and forforeign journalists deteriorated. The promotion of a hard-liner formerly responsible for theregime’s system of information controls to the top party leadership body, combined withmeasures to reinforce internet censorship and surveillance toward the end of the year, indicatedthe new CCP hierarchy’s commitment to retaining a tight grip on the information landscape.Nevertheless, with more people gaining access to microblogs and other online tools,Chinese citizens’ ability to share and access uncensored information, particularly about breakingnews, continued to grow. Several public outcries and online campaigns in 2012 were creditedwith driving the news agenda—including on the sensitive topic of elite politics—or forcingisolated government concessions. In addition, fewer cases of violence against professionaljournalists and high-profile online activists were reported compared with 2011, and no120