A special report about Venezuela on Wednesday, Aug. 29, by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called attention to President Hugo Chávez's harassment of the private press during the last 13 years, reported the newspaper La Nación. The report, titled "Venezuela's private media wither under Chávez assault," is the fourth CPJ has published about Venezuela ever since Chávez was elected president for the first time, in 1999. According to CPJ, Chávez has used threats and restrictive measures -- such as the persecuti
On Monday, Aug. 27, the criminal division of the Colombian Supreme Court reversed its decision to sue journalist Cecilia Orozco Tascón for libel and slander, reported the Foundation for Press Freedom. The Court charged Orozco on Aug. 23, after she published an opinion column in the newspaper El Espectador questioning the criminal division's decisions.
On Monday, Aug. 27, Brazilian civil society organizations launched the campaign "Freedom of Expression--A New Law for a New Time," reported the National Forum for the Democratization of Communication. The campaign marks the 50th anniversary of the Brazilian Telecommunications Law and calls for a new "general communication law" that defends plurality, diversity, and equal access to media and telecommunications in the South American country.
On Thursday, Aug. 23, the Colombian Supreme Court announced a libel lawsuit against a journalist, and criticized commentaries published by another journalist, reported the newspaper El Tiempo and the magazine Semana. The court was upset over the columns that questioned and criticized some of the court's decisions.
The Bolivian government said that it would sue the Fides News Agency (ANF in Spanish) for alleged defamation against Bolivian President Evo Morales, although the case is still being analyzed by a legal team, reported the newspaper Los Tiempos.
On Monday, Aug. 20, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) declared the blockade on the circulation of newspapers in Argentina a "press freedom violation." “While the unions have a legitimate right to express themselves, their actions cannot limit the right to press freedom nor restrict people’s access to the information that the news media disseminate," IAPA said.
A reporter from the Brazilian newspaper Jornal da Tarde, in São Paulo, will run for city council this year 2012 elections in order to cover the campaign from a different perspective, reported the newspaper's website.
The killings of 12 Brazilian journalists between August 2010 and July 2012 prompted the National Association of Newspapers (ANJ in Portuguese) to announce a "special alert," reported the news agency EFE. The alert was announced during the opening of the 9th ANJ Congress, on Monday, Aug. 20, in São Paulo.
The Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji in Portuguese) won the National Association of Newspapers (ANJ in Portuguese) Prize for Press Freedom on Monday, Aug. 20, reported Ancelmo Gois in his column for the newspaper O Globo. The prize was awarded during the 9th Brazilian Congress of Newspapers in the city of São Paulo.
Three journalists and a photographer were detained on Wednesday, Aug. 15, after covering an oil spill in the city of Freites, in the state of Anzoátegui, in Venezuela, reported the site La Patilla.