Points:10 // Status: Free

1 - Norway

This country has one of the largest readerships in the world with more than 200 newspapers, which express a diversity of opinions, many of which are openly partisan. The concentration of the media has become of concern, with three large companies dominating the press sector.

Competition is still strong, even though the economic downturn hurt the advertising market. The public broadcaster NRK, financed by a license fee, is dominant in both radio and television, but there is considerable competition from private broadcasters. News is also broadcast by the private channel TV2. The government does not restrict use of the internet, and it was accessed by 95 percent of the population as of 2013.

The Norwegian Media are generally free of censorship or undue political pressure on editorial policy, and journalists are able to perform their work without physical obstructions. Freedoms of expression, Media freedom, and the right to access government information are guaranteed under Article 100 of Norway’s constitution.

Violence against journalists and Media outlets is rare, but there have been some threats from Islamist extremists in recent years. Even after the terrorist attack carried out by Anders Behring Breivik, in 2011, alledgedly a member of a number of hate sites and blogues and inspired by them, tno legal measures have been taken to limit freedom of speech.