By Maira Magro
An internal government document classifies journalists as “acceptable” or not depending on their ideology and recommends ways of punishing “unacceptable” journalists, for example, by delaying press releases, the Associated Press reports. The Uruguayan Press Association said the two-year old document, which was publicized last week, is reminiscent of tactics used during the country’s military dictatorship.
According to Últimas Noticias, the report identified some journalists as “serious,” “workers,” and government supporters, while others were called “unscrupulous,” “government critics,” “commercial,” and “unknowledgeable about the subject.”
Búsqueda, the weekly that originally published the report, explains that the document was written in 2008 by the communications secretary at the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries. The minister at the time, José Mujica, is Uruguay's current president, the AP adds.
Opposition deputies said they planned to ask for an investigation into the government’s media practices, El País 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.
