Despite having "one of the freest presses in Asia," the Philippines was the second deadliest country in the world after war-wracked Iraq, where 23 journalists were killed, according the Committee to Protect Journalists' annual survey on worldwide press freedom.

At least eight Philippine journalists, mainly rural radio broadcasters, "were gunned down in retaliation for their work," according to CPJ's report titled "Attacks on the Press in 2004."

"Threats to press freedom spiked throughout Asia in 2004, even as the news media claimed significant accomplishments" with their "key roles" covering elections in Afghanistan and elsewhere, the report said.

A CPJ delegation concluded that Bangladesh was the most dangerous country for journalists in the region, as three were murdered in retaliation for their work. Journalists received scores of threats from extremists and suffered routine harassment and physical attacks.

China continued to hold the most journalists in prison in the world, with at least 42. The report said 122 journalists were imprisoned worldwide last year.

"It was a disappointing year for those who hoped that President Hu Jintao would allow a greater degree of freedom for China's increasingly market-oriented press," the report said.

In military-ruled Myanmar, conditions for journalists "deteriorated" as hardliners tightened their grip on power and cracked down further on the official media and "the few remaining independent writers and editors," the report said.

"One thing remained certain in 2004" in Stalinist North Korea, the report said, "There is no press freedom in the country, only government outlets that voice the pronouncements of Kim Jong Il's authoritarian regime."

In Indonesia's Aceh province, 80 employees of the Serambi Indonesia newspaper died in the December 26 tsunami disaster, wiping out nearly half its staff, the report said.