Raw Data: Killings of Reporters Were Down In 2020

Reader LL emails to ask a question: “I read a lot of stories lately of reporters being assassinated. How does the current rate compare with past years?”
That made me curious myself. Here’s the answer, via Reporters Without Borders:
In 2020, a total of 51 reporters were killed, the smallest number since 2004. The trendline over the past 16 years is slightly down.
There’s more to journalist security than just killings, so don’t take this as more meaningful than it is. Still, it means something, and I think most of us would be surprised by these numbers. But that’s the best kind of data, isn’t it?

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