Government harassment against journalists has become a trend in Latin American countries, with leaders often using the strength of state institutions, such as the judiciary and police, to discredit and even silence the press.
Five innovative projects that were successfully launched in the region were presented virtually at the 14th Ibero-American Colloquium on Digital Journalism organized by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas of the University of Texas at Austin.
“It is symbolic and it is very important to understand the moment in which we live,” André Biernath said during the 14th Ibero-American Colloquium of Digital Journalism during the panel “Challenges in the coverage of the pandemic in Ibero-America amid the ‘infodemic,’ the epidemic of disinformation.”
By virtue of the financial and strategic support of a program for digital media in Latin America, 10 media outlets managed to grow as organizations, create and strengthen products, in addition to increasing their audience despite the general crisis caused by the pandemic.
Spanish journalist Javier Moreno, currently editor-in-chief of newspaper El País, opened the 14th edition of the Ibero-American Colloquium on Digital Journalism. In a conversation with Rosental Alves, director and founder of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, Moreno spoke about the first year of operation of the newspaper’s paywall and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on journalism. He also gave a piece of advice to his colleagues in Latin America: "do not despair.”
The table "Stories that cross borders: transnational investigative journalism expands in Latin America" was held on May 1, as part of the 14th Ibero-American Colloquium on Digital Journalism
In the first announcement, Natalia Viana, executive director of news organization Agência Pública, revealed that 30 Brazilian journalism organizations, websites and startups are founding Ajor (Brazilian Association of Digital Journalism), which will officially launch in June.
LatAm Journalism Review spoke with UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay about advances in recent years, the situation for journalists on the American continent and the organization’s alliance with the Knight Center in seeking to strengthen journalism and reporting.
Registration is now open for the 14th Ibero-American Colloquium on Digital Journalism, a post-ISOJ conference in Spanish and Portuguese.
On April 16, a Venezuelan supreme tribunal ordered El Nacional to pay compensation to the vice president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Diosdado Cabello, considered the number two of Chavismo, for moral damage and defamation.
The global press freedom ranking by NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) confirmed a perceived trend in Latin America: a general worsening of conditions for the exercise of journalism on the continent. Of the 24 countries in the region analyzed, 19 lost points in the RSF survey.
Upon accepting the 2021 Chapultepec Grand Prize, editor Marty Baron recognized not only his own objective of fighting for an independent press to ensure democracy, but the battles waged by his Latin American colleagues to do the same.