Papua New Guinea journalists are still subject to violence but the country's media is diverse and dynamic, enjoying a relatively free environment, the media freedom group Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) says.
Post Courier newsroom, Port Moresby, June 2017. Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades
In the latest RSF media freedom rankings, PNG has dropped two places to 53rd out of 180 countries examined by the group.
It said some officials encouraged media self-censorship by directly threatening journalists whose articles criticised them.
PNG authorities repeatedly prevented the media and citizen-journalists from freely covering the elections in June and July 2017, RSF said.
Journalists were reportedly still prevented from covering the fate of detainees in Australia's refugee detention center on Manus Island, it said.
