By Ingrid Bachmann
The Association of Argentine Journalistic Entities (ADEPA) said in its annual report that President Cristina Fernández's government acts as if journalism is "an enemy” and warned that pressure on the media from the authorities is degrading freedom of expression.
According to Gaceta de Tucumán, media outlets countrywide have echoed ADEPA’s criticism by questioning the sharp increase in total government ad spending and the way it is spent.
This conflict between the government and private media outlets– especially Grupo Clarín – has moved into the courts, as several owners face criminal charges of complicity with the military dictatorship (1976-1983) and new laws require the biggest media outlets to decrease the scope of their businesses.
However, in a recent win for Clarín, last week a judge suspended a government resolution that would have forced the closure of Fibertel, the internet service provider owned by Clarín, and called on the government to refrain from its attacks on the company, Página 12 explains.
The president criticized the ruling on her Twitter account, saying “it’s as if we have one [legal system] for The Monopoly and another for the rest of society,” the state news agency Télam adds.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
