By Maira Magro
Residents of Posadas, capital of Misiones province (NE Argentina), demonstrated over the weekend in favor of freedom of expression, responding to last week’s closure of Channel 4. Ten military police officers went to the station Jan. 12 to enforce a court order to suspend its broadcasts. (See other stories here, in Spanish.)
The order was initiated by a minority owner of the channel, Carlos Valenzuela, who alleges that he has the right to operate the frequency. But Perfil newspaper accuses the governor of Misiones of trying to “appropriate the signal” of Channel 4, which serves as the sole opposition voice to his administration.
Employees and viewers of Channel 4 have protested the closure. The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) has expressed concern over the action and the station's personnel. Channel 4's employees continue to broadcast programming on the station’s website, which also features news and images of the protests.
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.
