An Ecuadorian journalist claimed she received death threats after presenting a series of reports on drug consumption and carrying guns in schools in the city of Guayaquil, reported the Associated Press.
Sympathizers of Ecuador's President Rafael Correa protested last week outside the María Moors Cabot Prizes ceremony in opposition to Columbia University's decision to give the Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo an honorary citation for its defense of freedom of expression, the Committee to Protect Journalists reported.
A mayor in Honduras ordered the closure of a television channel and interfered with the distribution of the newspaper El Heraldo, reported the publication.
A member of the Colombian National Police attacked a photographer on Tuesday, Oct. 23, reported the newspaper Vanguardia Liberal. Ana María García, photographer for the newspaper El Tiempo, was covering a serious accident on the mass-transit system of Bogotá, the capital, when the officer attacked her, according to the newspaper.
According to the National Association of Newspapers in Brazil (or ANJ in Portuguese), members that followed the association’s recommendation to abandon Google News have seen a decrease in web traffic of only 5 percent.
The Mexican Secretary of Government announced the 17 members that make up the Advisory Council for the Mechanism to Protect Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, reported the news agency Notimex.
The state government of Puebla filed a legal complaint against two journalists for "abusing freedom of expression" and the local press reported that the government is considering 17 more similar cases, according the news agency AFP.
The Bolivian Constitutional Court ruled that insult crimes against public officials are unconstitutional, violating citizens' right to freedom of expression, reported the website Prensa Libre. While the decision was dated Sept. 20, the announcement was not made until Tuesday, Oct. 23, by Court president Ruddy Flores, according to the website.
Story Hunter, a global community of video reporters, recently released a four-minute documentary on the threats Mexican reporters face in Veracruz, a state where 11 journalists have been killed in the last 18 months. The Gulf-state of Veracruz is considered one of the 10 most dangerous places in the world for journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders.
"Ecuador is in the midst of a press freedom crisis," International Press Institute (IPI) Deputy Director Anthony Mills said on Tuesday, Oct. 23, on the group's website. Mills' words were part of a press release announcing the final report of IPI's press freedom mission to the Andean country from May 7 to 11.
Two Bolivian journalists were forced to flee to Brazil after suffering legal harassment by public officials on Oct. 13, reported the newspaper Opinión. The reporters from Cobija, capital of the northern department of Pando, claimed that officials with the department Prosecutor's office attempted to arrest them, according to the newspaper.
"Ecuador is in the midst of a press freedom crisis," International Press Institute (IPI) Deputy Director Anthony Mills said on Tuesday, Oct. 23, on the group's website. Mills' words were part of a press release announcing the final report of IPI's press freedom mission to the Andean country from May 7 to 11.