Around the world, at least 46 journalists were killed for their work in 2011, and another 35 deaths are being investigated to determine whether they were journalism related, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ) annual report documenting attacks on the press, reported the news agency AFP. For the second year in a row, the CPJ report named Pakistan as the deadliest country for journalists, said Radio Free Europe, and CPJ said Mexico is first worldwide for retaliation against reporting done via social media.

In a global look at the most pressing issues facing journalists, CPJ's annual report, "Attacks on the Press in 2011," highlighted a worldwide increase in imprisoned journalists, strengthened efforts to fight impunity, a heightened need for safety preparation and physical security for journalists, and a continuing battle against censorship. CPJ also noted that cybercrime laws potentially are threatening freedom of expression, and the report called attention to the fact that, despite more discussion about sexual violence against journalists after the attack on CBS correspondent Lara Logan who was reporting from Egypt, little progress or changes have been made.

In the Americas, CPJ noted how in some Latin American countries, like Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua, state-owned media are used to attack independent journalists. And in Mexico, "silence or death" often is the only option for journalists, as, when it comes to violence against the Mexican press and impunity for crimes against journalists, President Felipe Calderón and his administration "have failed at nearly every turn," CPJ said. See this CPJ video for an account of the dangers of reporting in Mexico from journalist Javier Valdez Cárdenas.

Other notable numbers from CPJ's Americas section of the annual report show:

• 8 journalists killed in 2011
• 11 journalists missing as of Dec. 31, 2011
• 0 journalists imprisoned on Dec. 1, 2011
• 224 demands made by authorities in Brazil requesting Google to take down online information -- the most demands of any country in the world
• 18 Cuban journalists forced into exile, the most from any country worldwide
• 148 press freedom violations in Ecuador
• 6 email, Twitter accounts hacked in Venezuela
• 53 percent of press freedom violations in Guatemala came from officials and politicians (see this Knight Center map for more information on attacks against the press in Central America)
• 7 police attacks on journalists in Honduras
• 5th worst impunity levels in world in Colombia
• 20 arrests of journalists at Occupy protests in the United States