NEW YORK - REFLECTING the rising influence of online reporting and commentary, more Internet journalists today are jailed worldwide than those working in any other medium, reported the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
In its annual census of imprisoned journalists released last week, the CPJ found that 45 per cent of all media workers jailed worldwide were bloggers, Web-based reporters, or online editors. It was the first time online journalists represented the largest professional category.
Of 125 journalists known to be jailed as of last Monday, at least 56 work online, the CPJ census found.
Print reporters, editors, and photographers - the largest category previously - were the next largest group, with 53 cases.
Television and radio journalists and documentary filmmakers make up the rest. The number of jailed online journalists has risen steadily, since the CPJ census noted the first jailed Internet writer in 1997.
"Online journalism has changed the media landscape and the way we communicate with each other," CPJ executive director Joel Simon observed.
"But the power and influence of this new generation of online journalists have captured the attention of repressive governments... and they have accelerated their counterattack."
The significance of Internet journalism can be seen in China, where 24 of 28 jailed journalists worked online. They include activist and blogger Hu Jia, who was recently awarded the prestigious Sakharov prize by the European Parliament.
The CPJ list excludes prominent Malaysian blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, who was held briefly under the Internal Security Act, before being freed by a court last month.
