The verdict is out for the Singapore press again.Based on the latest "Global Press Freedom Rankings", a publication released by Freedom House, for its cover of the year 2007, the Singapore press remains stuck at the mid-hundred range among nearly 200 countries ranked annually.One can surmise that this will probably be the status quo for a long time until there is a change of government.Freedom House is a non-profit organisation that promotes democracy, political and economic freedom around the world.Founded in 1941 by Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of 32nd United States president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, it is concerned with mounting threats to peace and democracy and opposes tyrannical rule, dictatorships and totalitarian regimes in the world.It also runs another publication - its flagship publication - "Freedom in the World".According to Freedom House, the Singapore press has been "awarded" 153th place, an improvement of one space up from 154th last year and as a first-world country, shares the same slot with third-world ones like Iraq and Gabon.Here is how the Singapore press fared under its microscope for previous years:FREEDOM HOUSE[www.freedomhouse.org]Global Press Freedom Rankings: Singapore2007Ranking: 154 out of 195Category: Free / Partly Free / Not FreeSame Rankings: Afghanistan, Djibouti, Gabon2006Ranking: 148 out of 194Category: Free / Partly Free / Not FreeSame Rankings: NIL2005Ranking: 139 out of 194Category: Free / Partly Free / Not FreeSame Rankings: Angola, Bhutan, Gabon, Haiti2004Ranking: 135 out of 193Category: Free / Partly Free / Not FreeSame Rankings: Armenia, Central African Republic, Maldives, Mauritania2003Ranking: 61 - 70 out of 100Category: Free / Partly Free / Not FreeSame Rankings: 27 countries2002Ranking: 61 - 75 out of 100Category: Free / Partly Free / Not FreeSame Rankings: 32 countriesNotably, apart from the little recent rise, the Singapore press' ranking has dipped over the past five years.Its status has also consistently fallen into the category of "Not Free" among three categories that include "Free" and "Partly Free".If the topmost and foot categories were simultaneous with the identifications of "first-world" and "third-world" respectively, it is safe to conclude that Singapore has "third-world press freedoms".With a "first-world government" in Singapore, or so-claimed by the PAP, it is remarkable that press freedoms here cannot achieve the "second-world" tag of "Partly Free", which would be more deserving of a ruling party that prides itself in having elections yet turn up a single-dominant-party result.Not only so, it is 21st among 40 countries with press freedoms categorised "Not Free" - right at the centre.Another international organisation that conducts such similar rankings exercise is the Reporters without Borders (RWB).Registered in France as a non-profit entity, it highlights mistreatment and torture of journalists and media assistants persecuted while in the course of carrying out their job and has consultancy status with the United Nations.Let's take a look at the RWB's past years' rankings of the Singapore press:REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS[www.rsf.org]Worldwide Press Freedom Index: Singapore2007: 141 out of 1692006: 146 out of 1682005: 140 out of 1672004: 147 out of 1672003: 144 out of 1662002: Not availableAccording to this one, Singapore's press freedom rankings have been fluctuating but is also positioned rather modestly.Taking a closer look, it is placed at the bottom 20% tier every year among countries ranked.First-world countries usually possess first-world press freedoms.Even many third-world countries have it.Singapore certainly enjoys this rare, dubious honour of being "first-world" while having "third-world press freedoms".Time to shape up?