According to this year's Press Freedom Index, put out by Reporters Without Borders, the US has returned to the top 20 countries in the world (tied with Luxembourg and the UK) when it comes to freedom of the press.
This appears to be a result of a combination of promises made by the Obama administration for more access and transparency to the press, as well as legislation proposed in the House of Representatives which would allow journalists to protect their sources, among other things.
It's not all smiles and sunshine, however. When it comes to the US stance on freedom of the press in other regions of the world in which we have a military presence, our record is not so much on the mend, with US forces detaining (and injuring in some cases) journalists in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. The index linked above apparently only factors domestic press, though I can't be held to that.
Other countries that the USA has a vested interest in are not faring so well on this list. Unsurprisingly, North Korea is way down at the bottom, its press being so stifled that it basically doesn't exist. Iraq (145), Iran (172), and Afghanistan (149) are all in the bottom chunk of the listing, and Israel (93 within its own territory but 150 outside it's territory, meaning Gaza I believe?) definitely has some work to do if it wants to up its ranking.
I found this report to be a very interesting find, considering all the hubbub lately with the Obama administration calling out Fox News for what it is (or rather, what it isn't), and the various pundits and right-wing bloggers crying foul about it. The report makes a clear differentiation between the Bush and Obama administrations, stating that the US has risen 20 spots (up from 40th) this year alone. As if we didn't have enough ammo to throw back at right-wingers whining about the abuse Fox News has to put up with at the hands of Obama and his army of libruls, this non-partisan (that's left-leaning to righties) report displays clearly that under Obama, the press has more freedom than it had under Bush. In fact, I much prefer this counterpoint, compared to the "well Bush did it first" argument that W. shut out NBC during his tenure in office.