Ricardo Trotti, Argentine journalist and press freedom director of the Inter-American Press Association, received the Fight for Freedom of Expression Award in recognition of his defense of independent journalism in the Americas, during the organization's 67th annual General Assembly in Lima, Peru.
Tensions between the Costa Rican press and President Laura Chinchilla's staff came to a head when the Journalists Union of Costa Rica sent a letter to her office demanding an explanation for recent obstacles and intimidatory acts against journalists, the organization reported.
A Cuban photographer defected to the United States while covering the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, reported Café Fuerte, a Cuban news website based in Miami.
At its 67th annual general assembly in Lima, Peru, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) announced the publication of its bilingual book “Stories and Sketches,” that recounts the experiences of journalists from throughout the Americas who have been awarded scholarships by the organization during the past 57 years.
On Oct. 9, Brazilian journalist Antonio Carlos Ferrari was attacked and threatened at an event at the Itaporã city hall in the southern state of Mato Grosso do Sul after reporting on a local family accused of maintaining slave labor, according to the website Dourado News.
A Colombian court sentenced the newspaper Cundinamarca Democrática's founder and editor to 20 months in prison and a $5,500 fine for criminal libel, reported the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Luis García Heras and Sandro Malca Baca, two reporters with the station Radio Armonía in Peru, said they received death threats from another station's owner and radio host, reported the Press and Society Institute.
Brazilian television journalist Paulo Benito lost his contract with SBT affiliate TV Allamanda in the state of Rondônia on Oct. 6, after he was accused of "merchandising" for a politician, according to the website Gazeta de Rondônia.
A new public initiative allows Mexicans to use social media and the Internet to report discriminatory content and messages in news media and advertising, according to a press release by the Human Rights Commission (CHDF in Spanish).
The Brazilian military hindered camera crews from filming in the Complexo do Alemão, a collection of 13 slums, or favelas, outside Rio de Janeiro, on Oct. 3, reported the website Consciência.net. The favelas have been occupied by the military since November 2010, after a series of attacks orchestrated by drug traffickers.
An Ecuadoran court suspended journalist Emilio Palacio's three-year prison sentence and $40 million fine for defaming the Andean country's president, Rafael Correa, reported BBC Mundo.
The newspaper El Sol del Sur published a leaflet denouncing telephone threats it received, the sabotage of its website, and police aggression against reporters covering the expulsion of street vendors in Cuidad Madero in the border state of Tamaulipas.