After The New York Times published an investigation reporting the use of malware to infect devices of journalists and critics of the administration of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, a group of journalists and human rights defenders in that country formally denounced a spying case allegedly carried out against them by Government agencies.
More than 100 countries in the world have a law in their national legislation that allows access to public information. Latin America is the region with developing countries that has advanced most in this respect, even surpassing certain aspects of the laws of European Union countries, according to the recent Unesco report, "Access to Information: Lessons from Latin America.”
The murder of award-winning Mexican journalist Javier Valdez on May 15 was the last straw for the reporters’ guild in that country, considered one of the most dangerous to practice journalism in the world.
In August 2016, Catalan journalist Ismael Nafría and his family traveled 5,330 miles from Barcelona to Austin, Texas to spend a year at the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at the University of Texas, as part of its Journalist-in-Residence program. During that time, he wrote and published the book “The Reinvention of The New York Times,” coordinated a series of stories on journalistic innovation in Latin America (also published as an e-book) and has now launched a weekly newsletter on digital media innovatio
Mexican journalist Salvador Adame Pardo, 45, has been missing for almost a month after a group of gunmen abducted him on May 18 in the city of Nueva Italia, in the municipality of Múgica, in Michoacán state.
For five years, the Buenos Aires, Argentina branch of Hacks/Hackers has gathered thousands of journalists and tech experts in its fair city to discuss the future of news and innovation. This September, the conference known as Media Party will address one of the biggest threats to the news industry and greatest opportunities for innovation: fake news.
A political scandal that transcends borders, such as Operation Car Wash –the network of corruption and money laundering that originated in Brazil and involves politicians and businessmen from several countries– requires cross-border, collaborative and persistent journalistic work.
Oil spills in the Amazon, indigenous peoples fighting for their native territories, protected areas threatened by oil drilling and illegal mining activity, the great impact of livestock farming on the forests of protected areas and natural disasters were the most popular issues for readers of digital site Mongabay-Latinomérica in its first year.
Daily obstacles motivated Panamanian journalists Ana Graciela Méndez and Alfonso Grimaldo to create El Tabulario – a project, launched at the end of May, which collects, analyzes and disseminates public data with the aim of promoting transparency in the country.
While Latin American community radios have received greater recognition in their countries since the mid-2000s, they remain limited and discriminated against in practice and by law.
Operation Car Wash, known as Lava Jato in Brazil and considered the biggest corruption case in that country’s history, has provoked the indignation of many citizens. For this reason, journalist Luiz André Alzer gave Brazilians the opportunity to seek "revenge" and punish corrupt politicians and businessmen through a card game he created that is inspired by real characters and situations of the scandal.
João Miranda do Carmo, of Brazil, and Marcos Hernández Bautista, of Mexico, were among the 14 individuals whose names were added to the Journalists Memorial at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. on June 5.