On Wednesday, March 7, a group of pro-government Argentine newspapers launched the Federal Association of Publishers of Argentina (AFERA in Spanish) as an alternative to the group Association of Newspaper Entities in Argentina (ADEPA in Spanish), reported the newspaper Perfil.
“The AFERA arises because many publishers from the rest of the country feel that ADEPA doesn't address the interests of the industry sector; the government had nothing to do with this," said the president of AFERA, Gustavo Isaack, although the organization “intends to obtain better tax conditions,” reported the newspaper Perfil.
According to the newspaper Clarín, Isaack also called on public officials to regulate the distribution of private advertisement in mainstream news media, which "is music to the government's ears," according to the opposition newspaper Clarín.
About 40 small newspapers around Argentina are part of AFERA, many of which have received government advertising, reported the newspaper La Nación. The newspaper Página/12 and media from the group Vila-Manzano do not form part of the AFERA, reported the newspaper Tiempo Argentino.
