During the wave of violence in Kenya in 2008, that stemmed from conflicts among rival political factions, a group of friends created a system in which persons in various locations could send and share, via the Internet, news about attacks and killings. The Ushahidi (witness in Swahili) online platform became a model of success for participative coverage of news worldwide. Now the system has come to Brazil, with Voter 2010, an unprecedented election monitoring tool for citizens.
The dispute between the Clarín Group, Argentina's largest media conglomerate, and the federal government over Papel Prensa, the largest newsprint factory in the country, has intensified in recent days, with complaints, death threats, and accusations of human rights violations during the dictatorship (1976-1983).
In light of the investigation into the publication of a photo of dead bodies in a Caracas morgue, a Venezuelan court banned for a month the national press from publishing "violent, bloody, or grotesque images, whether of crime or not," that can affect children and adolescents, reported The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press
The release of various political prisoners does not mean Cuban authorities are tolerating any type of free expression on the island. Luis Felipe Rojas was arrested for publishing a "horror report" about abuses committed against dissidents in the eastern provinces of Cuba, reported Radio Martí and EcoDiario.
Mary Cuddehe, a U.S. journalist, was offered $20,000 to spy on plaintiffs in one of the biggest environmental lawsuits in Ecuador's history, Cuddehe revealed in a first-person account published in the Atlantic.
The Paraguayan Journalists Union condemned an attack against Martín Caballero, a radio announcer from Radio Sagrado Corazón de Jesús in the city of Villa Hayes. The group also came out against attempts to censor the radio station.
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).