Mexican President Felipe Calderón signed a new law to protect journalists on Friday, June 22, reported the Organización Editorial Mexicana.
A Mexican official confirmed that journalist Stephania Cardoso is currently under the protection of the federal government, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported Friday, June 22.
With the Venezuelan presidential elections just three months away, attacks against the press and journalists will most likely increase, warned the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). WAN-IFRA visited Venezuela from June 4-6 and found that independent media were polarized and weakened.
A public official from the Brazilian state of Maranhão was accused masterminding the killing of journalist Décio Sá, according to the hit-man's statement, which was leaked out on to the internet on Thursday, June 21, reported the Agência Estado.
Nearly two months after the killing of Mexican journalist Regina Martínez, authorities of the state of Veracruz leaked information to the local press indicating that the killing was a crime of passion and not related to her journalistic work, reported the newspaper Imagen del Golfo.
A Chilean reporter was suspended after satirizing a tribute to the former dictator Augusto Pinochet during the news program “Ultima Mirada” on the channel Chilevisión. Despite much criticism, the Chilean TV station denied taking the reporter off the air, reported the digital newspaper El Mostrador.
A Peruvian journalist was hospitalized after being brutally attacked in the province of Calca, department of Cuzco, after criticizing the local mayor, whom the journalist blamed for the attack, reported the news outlet Enlace Nacional.
A month has passed since a freelance photojournalist from Texas working in Mexico has been heard from, reported the television station Fox 29 of San Antonio the night of Thursday, June 21.
On Wednesday, June 20, two UN Special Rapporteurs called for better protection for journalists during the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, reported the news site Rfi.
A Mexican journalist was reported missing in the central state of San Luis Potosí, according to the news agency Notimex.
The trend of newspapers implementing paywalls is emerging in Brazil. Starting on Thursday, June 21, the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo will start charging a fee to access the content on its website, which will have the entire printed edition available, reported the same newspaper.
Two radio stations were attacked with dynamite in Colquiri, Bolivia, an area rife with protests and conflicts over mining. The attacks left 23 people injured and forced the radio stations to suspend broadcasting from June 14 to 15, reported Reporters Without Borders on Tuesday, June 19. Reporters Without Borders also called for the attacks to be investigated, and for journalists to be better protected.