Silvia A. Higuera Flórez is a Colombian journalist who has written for the Knight Center since 2012. She is interested in covering Latin American issues and human rights, especially the right to freedom of expression, and investigative journalism. She studied Social Communication and Journalism at Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Bucaramanga (Colombia), and received her Master's of Arts in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin in 2015. She worked with the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) under the Orlando Sierra fellowship during 2014. She also worked for the Colombian newspaper Vanguardia Liberal and wrote for different magazines about local, economic and public order issues. Her work has also appeared in The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald of Miami. Email: silvia.knightcenter@gmail.com
Silvia A. Higuera Flórez es una periodista colombiana que trabaja para el Centro Knight desde el 2012. Su interés periodístico es América Latina y los derechos humanos, particularmente el derecho a la libertad de expresión, así como el periodismo de investigación. Estudió Comunicación Social – Periodismo en la Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana de Bucaramanga (Colombia), y recibió su maestría en Periodismo en la Universidad de Texas, en Austin en 2015. Trabajó para la Relatoría Especial para la Libertad de Expresión de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH) en el marco de la beca Orlando Sierra, durante 2014. También hizo parte del diario Vanguardia Liberal y escribió para otras revistas colombianas cubriendo fuentes locales, económicas y judiciales. Algunos de sus trabajos han aparecido en The Miami Herald y El Nuevo Herald de Miami.
Silvia A. Higuera Flórez é uma jornalista colombiana e escreve para o Centro Knight desde 2012. Seu interesse jornalístico é a América Latina e os direitos humanos, nomeadamente o direito à liberdade de expressão. Estudou Comunicação Social – Jornalismo na Universidade Pontifícia Bolivariana de Bucaramanga, na Colômbia e completou seu mestrado em jornalismo na Universidade do Texas em Austin. Silvia trabalhou na Relatoria para a Liberdade de Expressão da CIDH pela bolsa Orlando Sierra, em 2014. Trabalhou para o jornal Vanguardia Liberal e escreveu para outras revistas colombianas cobrindo temas locais, econômicas e judiciárias. Alguns de seus trabalhos apareceram no The Miami Herald e no El Nuevo Herald de Miami.
The obstacles keep coming for the distribution of Colombian-American Santiago Villa's documentary on President Rafael Correa. According to the Ecuadorian NGO Fundamedios, YouTube and Vimeo took down the video after the company Ares Rights brought a lawsuit for copyright infringement.
The Colombian Federation of Journalists (FECOLPER) called the closure of the newspaper El Liberal in the city of Popayán, Cauca on Saturday, Dec. 15, a blow to freedom of expression. The loss of the newspaper will leave the region hardest hit by unemployment, poverty and armed conflict without a newspaper, according to a statement from the organization.
Journalists unions in Bolivia rejected the Life and Disability Insurance Law for Press Workers enacted by President Evo Morales on Monday, Dec. 10, reported the website Los Tiempos. The proposed insurance would be paid for with one percent of the monthly total gross revenue of public and private media organizations and managed by a board with majority State representation, added the website.
The Institute for Press and Society, IPYS, described a recent change in the legislative decree that regulates the National Defense System as a "serious attack" on the right to access information, freedom of expression and transparency.
Colombia's struggle to end impunity for attacks on journalists got the lowest score on the Freedom of Expression and Access to Public Information Index, according to the Press Freedom Foundation (FLIP in Spanish) on Tuesday, Dec. 11.
A lawsuit brought against two journalists by a government official in Argentina sparked outcry from the media, according to the newspaper Clarín. The head of the Federal Revenue Administration (AFIP in Spanish), Ricardo Echegaray, sued journalists Matías Longoni and Luis Majul separately for "damages and harm," added the newspaper. The official asked for almost $275,000 in restitution from each.
The Ecuadorian media organization Fundamedios called for greater tolerance and mutual respect between state and private media in the Andean country, the group said on its website. According to Fundamedios, the polarized climate in which journalists practice their craft contributes to verbal abuse and insults between reporters.
The San Bernardo hospital in Argentina discharged the Bolivian journalist burned live on air, Fernando VIdal, on Monday, Dec. 10, after he received three surgeries, reported the newspaper El Tribuno. According to the journalist's son, Kim Romero, Vidal will hold a press conference on Wednesday, Dec. 12, and hopes to return to Bolivia within the next two weeks if doctors say he is ready to travel, the newspaper added.
Reactions were swift to the court's decision to suspend controversial articles in Argentina's new Media Law that would have required media giant Grupo Clarín to abandon some of its broadcast licenses last Friday, Dec. 7.
The director of a documentary about Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa refused to air his film on a U.S. television channel after an official requested the station makes some changes in their broadcast, according to Fundamedios.