From searching for information to contacting sources, social network sites increasingly are impacting the routines of Brazilian journalists, according to new research from Oriella PR Network 2011 distributed in Brazil on Tuesday, June 7.
The meeting began with a moment of silence for slain television journalist Yensi Roberto Ordoñez Galdamez. Nearly 80 journalists bowed their heads as they gathered for the “3rd International Meeting of Journalists from the Departments and the Capital of Guatemala.” Their mission: to bring journalists together for training and dialogue in hopes of improving coverage of the upcoming elections.
Journalist Eduardo Villatoro says he received telephoned death threats for his reports on mining and gas plants on the coasts of Guatemala, Cerigua reports via IFEX. Callers told the journalist he could be killed for being an enemy of progress and discouraging foreign investment.
Journalists who have been sexually assaulted in the line of work have been reluctant to step forward for fear of being reassigned, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) revealed June 7 in a new report "The Silencing Crime: Sexual Violence and Journalists."
An Argentine journalist denounced the attempted kidnapping of his son after receiving various threats related to his work, reported Análisis. Sergio Schneider, editor in chief at the newspaper Norte in Resistencia, in the province of Chaco, in northeastern Argentina, filed a complaint May 27, in which he called the attempted kidnapping part of a plan to hurt his family because of his journalist work, added Norte.
A São Paulo city judge has ordered Brazilian soccer coach Emerson Leão to pay approximately $12,500 to Radio Central de Campinas journalist José Henrique Semedo, Esporte e Mídia reports.
Dominican TV journalist José Agustín Silvestre de los Santos, who is facing a defamation trial after accusing a prosecutor of supposed ties with drugtrafficking, was set free after six days in jail and after posting a $3,800 bail, reported Reporters Without Borders (RSF). However, Silvestre de los Santos, the host of the television program "The Voice of Truth" for the regional channel Cana TV in the Dominican Republic, still must appear before authorities in 30 days for the trial against him to continue.
After Peru's polarized elections in which the mainstream media was accused of fronting a disinformation campaign, what is the role of journalism since the victory of Ollanta Humala? The renowned journalist Augusto Álvarez Rodrich wrote in La República: "Journalism that attempts to exercise the profession with decency and independence now has to proceed, with rigor, to monitor the new government, including the completion of its promises... There is no blank check, president-elect Ollanta Humala".
The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) has been elected to represent Latin America at the International Federation of Expression Exchange (IFEX) Council, the ruling body of the largest free expression network in the world, CERIGUA reports.
Knight Fellows at Stanford University recently discussed digital initiatives in the Americas, including a plan to improve communication among Cuban bloggers, a proposed web portal to help Latino teens become better informed, and an online "toolkit" to help journalists cover Aboriginal peoples in Canada.
Press freedom organizations and journalist unions have united to express their concern for the future of press freedom in Ecuador because of the tension between the government and the media, which has intensified in recent months after lawsuits President Rafael Correa has filed against reporters and media owners.
The Dominican Journalism Guild (CPD) called on the authorities to end the wave of aggression faced by media workers in the Dominican Republic, Listín Diario reports. The CPD says there have been more than 30 incidents against members of the press in 2011.