Radio journalist Hassan Suber was killed in the recent blast in Somalia. Photo: Shabelle

This year was the deadliest year for African journalists since 2000, according to an analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The organization confirmed 12 cases of journalists in sub-Saharan Africa killed while reporting. In Somalia, nine local journalists were murdered or killed in combat situations.

Tom Rhodes is the Africa Program Coordinator at CPJ. He writes about the deteriorating situation for journalists in Somalia and explains why this figure is especially startling considering that sub-Saharan Africa has historically had one of the lowest journalist murder rates.

On the very first day of 2009, a Somali reporter from one of the leading independent stations, Radio Shabelle, was shot by a government soldier in a town outside the capital, Mogadishu.

This month, three journalists died in a suicide bomb blast set off by the notorious Al-Shabaab insurgents during a graduation ceremony held in Mogadishu.

“You never know what the day will bring in Mogadishu,” said Mustafa Haji Abdinur, editor-in-chief of Mogadishu’s Radio Simba who received CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award this year. “I basically live in my office due to the insecurity, it’s impossible for journalists to venture too far from their office –the few of us still here are basically prisoners to our work.”

Watch Martin Savidge interview Mustafa Haji Abdinur: Somali journalist on culture of violence and crippled press.

The heavy death toll in Somalia has led to an exodus of journalists, with at least a third of Somali journalists living in exile, the National Union of Somali Journalists estimates. Those that remain in the country work under extreme duress, where self-censorship is pivotal to a journalist’s survival. Al-Shabaab now control southern and central Somalia, including the airwaves. Major towns such as Baidoa and Kismayo now only broadcast Al-Shabaab radio.

But it is not only war-torn countries that have targeted African journalists.

Other journalists were murdered while investigating local corruption in Nigeria and Kenya or covering the political crisis in Madagascar. CPJ is investigating the cases of two other journalists in Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo to determine whether their deaths were related to journalism.

No perpetrator in any of the African cases has been brought to justice. Such a record sends a chilling message to local reporters: you can be killed, at any time, without repercussions.

Impunity towards the killers of journalists in Africa is unfortunately not a new phenomenon. This week also marks the anniversary of two unsolved murders of veteran journalists: the 1998 killing of Norbert Zongo from Burkina Faso and the 2004 murder of Gambian editor Deyda Hydara. Despite their popularity within their respective countries, local journalists hold little confidence in authorities to actively pursue their cases.

Africa’s high rate of killed journalists reflects a morbid trend seen across the world.

At least 68 journalists were killed for their work in 2009 — the highest yearly tally ever documented by CPJ. The nature of journalists’ deaths in Africa also reflects a global pattern: most were local reporters and most were murdered. As in past years, murder was the leading cause of work-related deaths in 2009 worldwide, representing about three quarters of the cases.

As media outlets scale back on costs and rely more and more on local reporters for their international coverage, the more we may see this trend increase. For this reason, among many others, the death of journalists in Africa and worldwide should be a matter of concern for everyone.

- Tom Rhodes

Worldfocus correspondent Mark Litke and producer Ara Ayer report from the Philippines on the risks some reporters face in doing their jobs.

For more on Worldfocus’ coverage of the Philippines, click here.

Charles Armstrong, a professor of Korean studies and director of the Center for Korean Research at Columbia University, joins Martin Savidge to discuss North Korea’s motives in releasing the two Americans.

That announcement came late Tuesday afternoon after former President Bill Clinton made an unannounced visit to North Korea and then held a series of high-level talks, including a rare chat with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

This is not the first time a former American president has gone to North Korea to negotiate. In fact, 15 years ago, during Bill Clinton’s first term, former President Jimmy Carter went to North Korea to negotiate on an earlier standoff on nuclear weapons.

Thomas Whalen, an associate professor of social science at Boston University, joins Martin Savidge to discuss Clinton’s mission and other ex-presidents who have been sent on diplomatic missions.

Read more from Worldfocus blogger Nina Hachigian: Mr. Clinton goes to Pyongyang

Meanwhile, following North Korea’s recent nuclear testing and missile launches, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told ABC’s “This Week” that the United States could potentially reinstate North Korea on a list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Leon Sigal, a project director at the Social Science Research Council, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the Obama administration’s approach to North Korea and how the two journalists factor into the equation.

- Nina Hachigian