The 10th annual Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas kicked off the night of Sunday, May 20, with an examination of some of the major security issues facing journalists throughout the Americas. During the Forum's opening session, Frank La Rue, the United Nations' special rapporteur for freedom of expression, along with newspaper editors from Mexico and Guatemala, highlighted the risks of independent reporting in a region increasingly racked by violence, corruption and rampant impunity.
One day after reporter Marcos Ávila was kidnapped by three armed men in the Mexican state of Sonora, authorities found the journalist's body strangled and with signs of torture. A message that has been attributed to drug-traffickers was found next to the body, reported the newspaper El Universal on the afternoon of Friday, May 18.
Two days after the Brazilian information access law went into effect, the Forum on the Right of Access to Public Information (FDAIP in Portuguese) published a recounting of the law's shortcomings and controversies.
Highlighting the need to celebrate journalists' work as way of creating a country- and world-wide atmosphere respecting freedom of expression, Guy Berger, director of UNESCO's Division of Freedom of Expression and media development, briefly outlined the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity during the first day of the 10th annual Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas.
During the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas' 10th annual Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas, a panel of experts moderated by renowned Peruvian journalist Gustavo Gorriti, director of IDL-Reporteros, warned that while the Internet is an invaluable resource for journalists, it can also become a powerful tool that can be used against them if proper precautions are not taken. The panel, "Safety and Protection on Cyberspace: Threats and Vulnerabilities Facing Journalists and Online Media," was held Monday,
“Protecting journalists is not a recommendation but an institutional obligation of the state," said the special rapporteur for freedom of expression of the Organization of American States, Catalina Botero, during her presentation at the 10th annual Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas addressing Security and Protection for Journalists, held May 20-22 in Austin, Texas.
Latin American journalists increasingly are facing legal threats to freedom of expression, according to experts on the panel "The Legal Threats to Press Freedom: From the Old Criminal Defamation Laws to the Newest Attempts to Regulate the Internet," during the 10th annual Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas organized by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas and the Open Society Fondations, held May 20-22 in Austin, Texas.
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has called on the Venezuelan government to end its defamation campaign against the newspaper Notitarde, IAPA announced on its website on Friday, May 18. According to IAPA, the campaign is a "a malicious discrediting maneuver" initiated by federal and state legislators of the ruling party.
The fifth panel of the 10th annual Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas, moderated by Mónica González, director of the Center for Journalistic Investigation (CIPER in Spanish) in Chile, discussed the "Endemic Violence Against Journalists and Media in Latin America" and the need for journalists to ally with NGOs, working in a long-term commitment. Also, the necessity for a greater solidarity amongt journalists was emphasized.
Mexican authorities of the state of Sonora in northeastern Mexico, confirmed the kidnapping of a police beat journalist who covers local security and justice issues, on Thursday, May 17, reported the Associated Press.
The Bolivian Senate has proposed a bill that would regulate social networks, and would be attached to the Law to Fight Against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination, reported the news site Eju TV.
Brazilian radio journalist José Luiz Datena, said on Tuesday, May 15, on his morning radio show that the station was suffering pressure from the mayor of São Paulo, Gilberto Kassab, due to the accusations that the journalist made on his TV program Brasil Urgente, according to the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. Because of this, the journalist threatened to go off the air, reported Yahoo.