"Press freedom is a key component of the general level of democracy in a country. Most often, changes in the state of media freedom have happened in tandem with changes in broader freedoms, therefore making it a sensitive indicator of the overall health of a democracy. In some cases, its deterioration might even warn us about bigger forces at work and point to an emerging or consolidating regime that is moving in the direction of restricting both political rights and civil liberties. Overall data on the global trends in the past five years–as shown in the global average overall and subcategory scores in the Freedom in the World report–reinforces this assertion." (Conclusion)