A new report says 1,000 news media professionals around the world have been killed over the past decade while trying to cover the news.
A survey by the Brussels-based International News Safety Institute, released Tuesday, says most of the dead were killed during peacetime in their home countries. Only one in four died in armed conflicts.
The Institute's director, Rodney Pinder, said hostile authorities or criminals eliminated journalists who in his words sought "to shine light into the darkest corners of their societies."
He said murder has become " the easiest, cheapest and most effective way of silencing troublesome reporting."
The report calls on governments to ensure that crimes against journalists are thoroughly investigated and perpetrators prosecuted.
The survey found that in most cases the killers were not identified. Nine in ten were never prosecuted.
Pinder said the crimes have spiraled because perpetrators could get away with murder.
The report says Russia and Colombia, together with Iraq, have been the most deadly places for media workers during the last 10 years.
