Reporters without Borders has reported a sobering [and definitely non-fake] holiday list. According to the just-released tally, worldwide, 65 journalists were killed in 2017; 326 are in prison and 54 are being held hostage, though the silver lining to that cloud was that the totals were down.
The deaths were those that could be attributed to injuries sustained while doing their jobs, during a bombardment while covering conflict, for example, or those who were murdered because of their reporting, with murders the majority of the deaths.
While one death is too many, the total is the lowest in almost a decade and a half. One reason is that countries like Syria, Yemen and Libya have become so dangerous that journalists are leaving those areas, says the group. But it says there is also a growing awareness of the need to protect journalists.
Hostages are those held by non-state groups like the Islamic State and the Houthis in Yemen, says Reporters Without Borders, with most of those local journalists. All the foreign journalists currently held hostage were kidnapped in Syria.
The number of detentions has also decreased, down 6% from the same time last year. But there remain an "unusually high" number of journalists detentions in Russia.
Related: CPJ: Trump Attacks Provide Cover For Record Journalist Imprisonments
