According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 2009 was the deadliest year yet, with 70 journalists killed. If that isn't bad enough, there are currently 136 journalists sitting in jail cells around the world. According to the group, which divides journalist deaths by "murder," "crossfire/combat" and "dangerous assignment," there have been 797 journalists killed since 1992. 

The Philippines was the most dangerous place in the world to be a journalist in 2009, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. More than 30 journalists were killed in a single massacre there in November, "the deadliest incident for the press in CPJ history," the group said. 

Other areas of the world can be just as dangerous. Just recently, a Somali stringer for Voice of America who had been jailed without charges for 17 days was released. The Committee to Protect Journalists has expressed concern about what it calls a "deteriorating situation" for journalists in Puntland and the rest of Somalia. 

Iran is another country that has experienced a crackdown on journalists. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has recovered its status as the world's biggest prison for the media," the Paris-based group said, adding that two sentences handed down in the past week brought the total number of jailed journalists to 42. 

Reporters Without Borders has rated Eritrea, in the Horn of Africa, as the worst place in the world to be a journalist in its annual report on press freedom last October. Its rating was based on a 40-question survey distributed to journalists in 175 countries.

According to Reporters Without Borders, wars and elections constituted the chief threat to journalists in 2009. It is becoming more and more risky to cover wars as journalists themselves are being targeted and face the possibility of being murdered or kidnapped. But it can turn out to be just as dangerous to do your job as a reporter at election time and can lead directly to prison or hospital. Violence before and after elections was particularly prevalent in 2009 in countries with poor democratic credentials.