The United States has long been held up as a model for press freedom worldwide. But increasing polarisation and the rise in populist politics are challenging this assumption. Instances of government officials undermining the media and the country’s democratic institutions make it increasingly difficult for journalists to do their jobs. Farther south, governments have been using laws to arrest and detain journalists who ask too many questions, while criminals who target journalists go unpunished. In this episode we take a close look at the US, Guatemala and Mexico, while also identifying trends that are spreading regionally, with: - Lauren Chooljian, radio journalist for New Hampshire public radio in the United States (https://www.nhpr.org/people/lauren-chooljian) - Joel Simon, founding director of the Journalism Protection Initiative at The City University of New York, in the United States (https://www.journalism.cuny.edu/faculty/joel-simon/) - José Carlos Zamora, Guatemalan journalist and son of José Rubén Zamora, founder and director of Guatemala’s El Periodico newspaper, who has been in prison since mid-2022 (https://twitter.com/jczamora) - Martha Ramos, chief editorial officer for Organización Editorial Mexicana, Mexico’s largest print media company (https://wan-ifra.org/2023/03/meet-martha-ramos-the-new-president-of-the-world-editors-forum/) The Backstory production team is Andrew Heslop, Mariona Sanz, Irene Abalo, Colette Davidson and Sarah Elzas, who edited and mixed the episode. Music in this episode: Something Elated by Xylo-Ziko (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/motif-remix/crystals)