Despite the global economic crisis and the migration of readers to the Internet, the circulation of printed newspapers in Latin America is projected to grow during the next five years, particularly in Brazil, Chile and Argentina, according to a Pricewaterhouse Coopers study, reported the newspaper La Nación.
This election year, the federal government in Brazil has nearly tripled the number of renewals or new permits for the operation of radio stations across the country, reported Folha de S. Paulo.
Mexican authorities are investigating grenade attacks at the offices of media giant Televisa in the cities of Matamoros and Monterrey. The first incident happened in Matamoros the night of Saturday, Aug. 14, and no one was injured. In the case of Monterrey, the attack occurred at dawn on Sunday, slightly injuring two employees and damaging a car and nearby buildings, reported Agencia Reforma and La Crónica de Hoy.
The Venezuelan prosecutor's office is investigating opposition newspaper El Nacional for publishing on its front page a photo of a dozen dead, naked bodies in a morgue, reported the Associated Press and the Latin American Herald Tribune.
An impending ruling from the Salvadoran Supreme Court has created uncertainty and concern among journalists in the country, and sparked a debate on the limits of freedom of expression, reported El Salvador and El Faro.
Even as violence and kidnappings are pressuring mainstream Mexican media into silence, an anonymous blog that is less than six-months-old has become one of the main sources for news about the country's out-of-control drug war, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Milenio is reporting that the Mexican Public Safety Secretary announced the capture in Durango of five alleged members of the Sinaloa cartel suspected of being linked to the kidnapping of two television videographers and a reporter at the end of last July.
Since Crítica, of Buenos Aires, stopped circulating April 29, its 190 reporters, editors, photographers and other workers have done all they can to keep their jobs. They have organized protests and meetings and have occupied the newsroom 24-7 for three months. This week they refused to comply with a court eviction order issued by the magistrate in charge of the bankruptcy process of the company, according to the Facebook campaign “Salvemos al Diario Critica”, or Let's Save the Crítica Newspaper." (Also see the camp
The Secretary of Commerce in Argentina, Guillermo Moreno, took helmets and boxing gloves to a meeting to discuss changes to the oversight committee of Papel Prensa, the largest manufacturer of newsprint in the country, reported the newspaper Clarín (see also a link to a video of the meeting).
Almost two years after the enactment of the Law on Access to Public Information (Law 18.381) in Uruguay, the administration has published a decree regulating its use. To incite journalists from throughout the country to take advantage of the law, the Archives and Access to Public Information Center launched this week a campaign, “Make Your Own Request.”
The Venezuelan vice president, Elías Jaua, asked the National Assembly to include in the reform of the General Bank Law a provision prohibiting shareholders of financial institutions from participating in communications enterprises, reported El Nacional.
Ten days after being kidnapped from his home in Zacatecas, Ulises González García was freed and then immediately hospitalized, reported Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The editor of the weekly newspaper La Opinión showed signs of having been tortured.