Media reps say 45 reporters, staffers died at work in 2021

BRUSSELS (AP) — The International Federation of Journalists says that 45 reporters and media workers were killed doing their jobs over the last year. Strife-torn Afghanistan was the most dangerous country in 2021. The federation said Friday that the figure represents one of the lowest death tolls in 30 years. Sixty-five deaths were recorded in 2020. But it says the numbers confirm a trend showing that media staff are most often killed for exposing corruption, crime and abuse of power in their communities, cities and countries. The group’s secretary general says the killings “remind us of the terrible sacrifice journalists across the world continue to pay for serving the public interest.”