NEW YORK - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says that 2009 was the worst year for reporters in its 30-year history.

The report, entitled "Attacks on the Press" paints a gloomy picture for journalists throughout the world. It says in Latin America espionage has targeted journalists while in African hot spots such as Somalia high numbers of reporters are being forced into exile.

Media in Afghanistan and Pakistan face enormous challenges in covering a multifaceted conflict straddling a volatile border.

Introducing the report on Tuesday, the Deputy Director of the CPJ, Robert Mahoney, says the picture is grim.

"Some 70 journalists were killed for their work. There were a huge number of journalists and media workers killed in the Philippines, at the end of November, but overall the trend was of continuing attacks, physical attacks and murder of journalists. A lot of them, in fact 3-quarters of them are killed deliberately. They're targeted, as we saw in countries like Russia. So it's a bad year for journalists' deaths."

The CPJ says that fueled by the Internet, human rights coverage is growing throughout the Middle East and now governments are pushing back.

Robert Mahoney says at least 60 journalists, bloggers and other writers have been imprisoned in Iran.