The state of press freedom worldwide is lousy and getting worse. The most ignominious culprits include Turkey, Syria, Afghanistan, Russia and other usual suspects.

“Media freedom has never been so threatened,” says Reporters Without Borders in its annual World Press Freedom Index.

“Syria, where a bloody civil war has entered its sixth year, was the deadliest country for journalists, according to the watchdog, known by its French initials RSF,” said Al Jazeera in its report story.

“Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey, which has jailed 81 journalists after a failed coup attempt, and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s Egypt, where Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Hussein has been detained, were branded the world’s biggest prisons for journalists.”

But wait. No surprise that Norway is No. 1 as far as the freest press. But there is also, somewhat oddly, a rather negative mention of Canada, which rates relatively well in general but is chided. That was especially so in Washington at one of several gatherings to promote the report.

This was co-hosted by The Washington Post, with the moderator Post reporter Dana Priest and the panelists including Ben Makuch, the national security reporter for Vice in Canada.

“That’s what I keep getting all morning,” said Makuch to Priest, who was a bit surprised at a Canadian rating a presence at the affair. “‘Canada? Why is Canada there?’”

He did a piece that used an alleged ISIS fighter from Calgary as a source. He was actually in Russia, reporting, when the government tried to get him to reveal his source. He’s refused and been on the losing end of the court battle so far.

He’s now going to the Supreme Court in a country with no shield laws and that, he noted, has been confirmed to have spied on journalists in recent years.

He was under a top-secret court gag order for nine months. He thus couldn’t even broach the subject with his family or friends (his editors knew the answer) and is convinced that he, too, has been spied on (he’s doesn’t have proof).

But he’s one of several reasons Canada has slipped sharply in the annual index and is now at No. 22 of all the world’s nations (it was No. 18 last year). That said, Canada is not Syria or Turkey.

As Syrian journalist Zaina Erhaim reminded the assembled in Washington, being “disappointed” with Canadian government actions is a luxury to her. The Syrian regime wants her killed.

As for what most struck moderator Priest, she looks at the world map and discerns “a spontaneous combustion event just within the last year that has resulted in a worldwide war against independent media. Canada? The United States? Fake news?” But, to turn the tide, “we’ve got to move faster and more deliberately.”

ESPN layoffs (part 1)

Richard Deitsch, Sports Illustrated’s media writer, was working social media Wednesday to report on the ESPN layoffs. About 100 employees, including on-air folks, were dumped in what inevitably was deemed insensitive fashion by employees (it’s hard being warm and fuzzy with this stuff, having myself passed out such news). Culling employee disclosures on social media, he listed those given bad news.

Here’s one reality not fully grasped in any of the stories I’ve seen: a bunch of folks were canned precisely because their contracts were up for renewal. Few intelligent companies (perhaps outside of professional sports teams) like the notion of paying somebody for several years who’s not doing any work.

So some folks surely got a reprieve, albeit a temporary one, because ESPN is still on the hook for a chunk of money. Those who were let go probably shouldn’t read Bloomberg’s coincidental “Why Getting Fired Is Worse Than Divorce.”