State of Southasia #05: Journalism in crisis across Southasia

On 3 May, which is World Press Freedom Day, the International Federation of Journalists released its report on press freedom in Southasia for the year 2023–2024. The report, titled Artificial Independence: The Fight to Save Media and Democracy, notes that in Southasia “the year under review saw the erosion of the expected institutional safeguards for an independent media, due to which the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ensuring public access to information and protecting fundamental freedoms remained disappointingly unfulfilled in the region.”

According to the report, the multifaceted nature of crisis facing Southasian journalism includes economic and political pressure that has had devastating impacts on the media’s influence and sustainability; attacks on journalists, including physical assaults, abduction, arbitrary detentions, and even killings; information blockades including internet shutdowns and the destruction of archives; clampdowns on digital platforms and spaces; external control and intimidation of media workers; as well as self-censorship and an erosion of trust in the media.

In this episode of State of Southasia, Nayantara Narayanan speaks to Laxmi Murthy, a senior journalist and the editor of the report, about the important role of the media and the struggles of journalists working in crisis conditions in an especially important year for the region, when several countries in Southasia are holding elections. (Disclosure: Laxmi Murthy is a Contributing Editor for Himal Southasian.)

State of Southasia releases a new interview every four weeks.

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