Bangladesh has ranked 165th out of 180 countries globally this year, slipping two notches in the World Press Freedom Index 2024.
On the other hand, Norway has ranked top again in the index with a score of 91.89, followed by Denmark.
The index was prepared by the Reporters Without Borders on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on Friday.
Bangladesh got a score of 27.64 out of 100, which was 35.31 last year.
In 2021, Bangladesh ranked 152nd with a score of 50.29. It placed only above Afghanistan in South Asia.
This year, Nepal has become the leader in press freedom in South Asia, ranking 74th.
Pakistan ranked 152nd and India was 159th. Afghanistan ranked 178th, bottom of the region.
The report says press freedom around the world is being threatened by the very people who should be its guarantors - the political authorities.
The war in Gaza has been marked by a record number of violations against journalists and the media since October 2023.
More than 100 Palestinian reporters, including at least 22 in the course of their work, have been killed by the Israel defence forces.
The index assessed freedom enjoyed by journalists and media across the globe and analysed five indicators: political context, legal framework, economic context, socio-cultural context and safety.
In the Asia-Pacific region, the world's second most difficult region for practicing journalism, five countries are among the world's 10 most dangerous countries for media personnel.
They are Myanmar (171st), China (172nd), North Korea (177th), Vietnam (174th) and Afghanistan (178th). But unlike last year, none of the region's countries is in the index's top 15.
BANGLADESH IN FIVE CONTEXTS
The report alleged that the state broadcasters in Bangladesh function as the government's propaganda outlets.
The private-sector media landscape includes 3,000 print media outlets, daily or periodical, 30 radio stations, including some community radio stations, 30 TV channels and several hundred news sites.
However, there are no independent or opposition-owned TV news channels, added the report.
In political context, it alleged, supporters of the ruling Awami League regularly launch violent physical attacks targeting journalists they dislike.
On the other hand, judicial harassment campaigns are carried out to silence certain journalists or force media outlets to close, according to the report.
"In terms of legal framework, months before the general election on 07 January 2024, the government introduced the 'Cyber Security Act (CSA)', a poor copy of the Digital Security Act (DSA), one of the world's most draconian laws for journalists."
In this environment, editors routinely censor themselves, reads the report.
In the economic context, it says, most of the leading private media are run by a handful of big businessmen who emerged during the country's economic boom.
"As a result, it is very often government representatives who decide who will be the guests on the evening talk shows on privately owned TV channels."
Many newspapers are dependent on state funding and imported newsprint, according to the report.
Bangladeshi journalists are all the more vulnerable because this violence goes unpunished, it opines.
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