Verbal attacks by presidential candidates in the U.S., new security laws in Europe and increased surveillance of information are some of the new challenges journalists face today, media freedom advocates said on the eve of World Press Freedom Day.

World Press Freedom Day aims to raise awareness of press freedom. It falls this year on Tuesday, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the world’s first freedom of information law and the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Windhoek Declaration of press freedom principles in Africa.

Last year was one of the worst years for press freedom, according to Sarah Repucci, project director at the Freedom House, a non-partisan group that researches issues relating to human rights and other basic freedoms.

Image: An event at Washington, DC’s Newseum, which holds a color-coordinated international map, located in the Time Warner World News Gallery. The map eflects the different levels of press freedom internationally as determined by the organization. Countries painted in green have a free press. Those in yellow have partial press freedom. The countries in red allow no press freedom. Flickr/Newseum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERdvS_41t6M