'Deadliest' year for journalists

By Chris Morris
BBC, Brussels

The war in Iraq has taken a heavy toll on those reporting it

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) says at least 129 reporters and other media workers were killed last year.

It is the highest number of deaths in a year since the IFJ began keeping records in the 1980s. Other suspicious deaths are still being investigated.

The Brussels-based body says Iraq was by far the most dangerous location for the media to work in.

Nearly 50 reporters and other media workers were killed there.

Most of the dead, including drivers and translators, were Iraqis.

Protection

The IFJ said that in almost every corner of the globe journalists were targeted and killed by the enemies of press freedom.

Another dangerous place to work was the Philippines where 13 journalists were murdered, many of them for reporting on corruption, crime and drugs trafficking.

The IFJ said governments have a duty to do more to protect journalists and to find out how and why they died.

Working conditions, particularly for local investigative reporters, were becoming more and more risky, the group added.