Three hundred and fifty journalists have died in the line of duty in the past decade. Another 125 editors, writers and photojournalists were imprisoned around the world last year.
The usual suspects were responsible - the mainland is one of the world's leading jailers of journalists, along with Cuba, Eritrea and Ethiopia. But new members have been initiated into this club.
The United States, famous for championing its First Amendment which guarantees freedom of speech and the press, last year ranked sixth among countries jailing journalists - tied with Myanmar - by holding them in detention centres in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.
The inclusion of the US in this list - compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists - underlines the importance of vigilance in preserving press freedom even in places where it is much celebrated, observers say. It is in recognition of this need to safeguard the media that today has been marked World Press Freedom Day.
Hong Kong's press is widely viewed as free and vibrant but every year, something happens to raise concern over attacks on its independence, perceived or otherwise. The media has long been criticised for being irresponsible and sensational in a bid to increase readership.
Doreen Weisenhaus, director of the Media Law Project at the University of Hong Kong, says the legacy of a 'secretive government' - inherited from the colonial administration - has left the media struggling for information and feeling 'uncomfortable' at any sign of a curtailment of freedoms.