Over the past twenty years, Colombian journalist Claudia Duque has been targeted for her work. She’s been abducted, tortured, threatened, followed and surveilled. Justice for these crimes has been limited. Despite this, she continues to focus on her own journalistic investigations, mainly into crimes against other journalists.
On Jan. 2, 2015, Mexican journalist Moisés Sánchez Cerezo was abducted from his home by armed men. Days later his body was found lifeless and with signs of torture. In the past almost nine years, his family has been dedicated to finding justice with different governments, without much success.
After an investigation, three Venezuelan journalists realized the best way to help journalism in Venezuela's Amazon region would be through a network that promotes collaboration and produces coverage that is conscious of both the environment and human rights.
In the face of climate change effects in the Caribbean, journalists covering natural disasters should have mental health checklists detailing what their newsrooms should do before, during and after potentially stressful coverage, says Trinidadian environmental journalist Seigonie Mohammed.
The Network for Diversity in Latin American Journalism held its third online conference, during which speakers from eight countries emphasized taking an intersectional approach on covering diversity issues. They also highlighted the need to provide outlets for multiple voices in reporting.
The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas is pleased to announce a new free online course in Portuguese that will give Brazilian journalists the knowledge and tools they need to navigate the complex landscape of civil liability, privacy rights, right of reply, source confidentiality and more.
The Foundation for Freedom of Expression and Democracy launched Sala de Edición, aimed at strengthening independent journalism in Nicaragua and Central America. Mentoring, editorial support, and guidance on the conceptualization of stories are some of the services provided.
A study carried out by five Latin American researchers points to the influence of fact-checking labels on social media engagement. Sebastián Valenzuela, one of the authors of the study, told LatAm Journalism Review there is evidence in four countries in the region of a preference for the "true" label in shares.
After taking a course on solutions journalism with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, James Hall incorporated the approach for a story he wrote for environmental journalism site Mongabay. The story, which focused on the conservation efforts of a small NGO in Colombia called Techo de Agua (Roof of Water), prompted an alliance between the NGO and local researchers, aimed at finding real-world solutions for conservation efforts.
An investigation by Mexican journalist Alejandra Ibarra revealed that it is not the information journalists disseminate that makes them assassination targets, but rather their roles as leaders and their stances on issues. She also argued out that Mexican officials see critical journalism as an affront and not a democratic function.
Fifty years after the coup in Chile, the Chilean National Congress is moving forward with legislation to regulate the protection of journalists and communications workers. Thus, the South American country is at the forefront in this matter at the international level.
The fact-checking coalition C-Informa of Venezuela won the Journalistic Excellence Award of the Inter American Press Association, in its category of data journalism, for revealing the social media disinformation strategy of Nicolás Maduro's regime. Learn more about the winning work in this article.