The Venezuelan hacker group N33 took over the Twitter accounts of two journalists critical of President Hugo Chávez, reported the weekly magazine Sexto Poder. The group is also responsible for other cyber attacks against opposition members, and is considered a growing threat to freedom of expression in the South American country.
An Argentine photojournalist received text messages threatening his life after he did not photograph a musical group performing at a Carnival celebration in Corrientes, Argentina, reported CorrientesHoy.
On Jan. 27, a a marathon of hearings started for the Brazilian news website Congresso em Foco following the publication of a series of reports detailing salaries paid to politicians, judges and civil servants above the constitutional limit, the website reported.
Immigration authorities in Panama denied Canadian journalist Rosie Simms entry into the country on Jan. 21. Authorities alleged that her passport was invalid, despite its 2015 expiration date, according to Reporters Without Borders. After holding her for four hours and denying her access to consular services, they forced her to board a plane for the United States, reported the website Newsroom Panama.
At least three journalists were attacked while covering a violent protest in the Bolivian capital of La Paz, reported the newspaper Jornada. Protesters from the Indigenous Council of the South also injured more than 20 police officers during the demonstration.
A news team for the Venezuelan television broadcaster Globovisión was detained by the country's Bolivarian National Guard as they tried to cover an oil spill in the community of Pararí, in the state of Monagas, reported the International Freedom of Expression Exchange on Jan. 27.
Charges were filed against a journalist in Chile for covering up human rights abuses in 1975, reported Emol. The journalist and ex-editor in chief for National Television of Chile, Carlos Araya Silva, was freed on bail after paying approximately $400, reported the radio station Cooperativa.
Memphis police briefly detained a photojournalist and erased images he had recorded on his cell phone on Sunday, Jan. 29, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Police are investigating the incident, the group added.
A Mexican journalist in Canada is fighting deportation, arguing that returning to Mexico is a death sentence for her and her family, reported CBC News and the Canadian Press. Karla Berenice Garcia Ramirez, who wrote about government corruption, sought asylum in Canada in 2008, but her application was denied in 2010, and in November 2011 a deportation order was issued, the Vancouver Sun explained.
CBSSports.com blogger Adam Jacobi was fired for publishing an erroneous tweet that prematurely reported the death of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, according to Poynter. Jacobi tweeted the false news of Paterno's death, without citing his information source.
O jornal argentino La Nación está negociando a aquisição da empresa de mídia americana ImpreMedia, que detém sete jornais de língua espanhola, incluindo o La Opinión em Los Angeles e o El Diario/La Prensa em Nova York, o mais antigo jornal em espanhol nos Estados Unidos, informou o New York Post. La Nación, com sede em Buenos Aires, é o segundo maior jornal argentino.
Cuban leader Fidel Castro ranted against the foreign press for reporting on the Jan. 19th death of political prisoner William Villar who had been on a hunger strike while in a prison in Santiago de Cuba, according to the newspaper Diario de Cuba.