On the recent third anniversary of the forced closure of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV), whose editorial line opposed President Hugo Chávez, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) released a video of Marcel Granier, RCTV’s general manager, discussing attacks by the government against private media.
At a time when independent journalists continue to fear state police harassment for publishing criticisms of the government, and others remain in prison for their work, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, Granma, appears to be increasingly willing to air critical ideas. In recent months, the paper – Cuba’s largest – has published letters to the editor critical of the country’s economic policies, Juan Tamayo writes for The Miami Herald.
Defense Minister Rubén Saavedra says the military is ready to comply with a Supreme Court order to declassify documents from the military dictatorship led by General Luis García Meza (1980-1981), AFP reports.
The Venezuelan chapter of the Press and Society Institute (IPYS) has released its most recent publication, Methods of Impertinence, a collection of best practices and lessons for investigative journalism in Latin America. The book combines testimonies from 10 prominent journalists from the region that were presented between 2005 and 2009 at events in Mexico, and the Venezuelan cities of Caracas, Maracaibo, and Puerto La Cruz.
Maurício Machado, journalist and owner of Jornal Atualidades in Marília, São Paulo, was granted pretrial release after spending six days in prison under charges of extorting a federal deputy, O Estado de S. Paulo reports. Prosecutors say the journalist planned to publish false stories about the deputy to force him to buy advertising at the paper.
In an interview with Argentine daily Página 12, Paraguay's communications minister Augusto dos Santos says the country wants to launch its first state-run TV network in May of 2011.
Colombians appear to have been more comfortable with continuity than with change by giving President Álvaro Uribe’s former defense minister, Juan Manuel Santos, a win with approximately 47 percent of the vote, and putting him into a second-round runoff June 20 with Antanas Mockus, the BBC reports. Several media from around the world were surprised by such a decisive win by Santos, after polls had predicted a tie with Mockus, El Tiempo reports (Spanish).
Wiretaps conducted by Colombian intelligence agents on judges, journalists, politicians, and human rights defenders have put more pressure on President Álvaro Uribe to be accountable. Uribe was summoned this week to testify about any possible role or knowledge he had of the wiretaps. He publicly denied claims made by the prosecutor handling the case who suggested that the president's office had leaked the press information in order to discredit the Supreme Court, CM& and El Colombiano report.
Guatedigital brought the news that Aníbal Archila, a reporter for Noti7 TV, was declared missing Thursday night (May 27) after being hit and injured by volcanic debris while covering the eruption south of Guatemala City, EFE says. His body was later discovered, and his shaken colleagues announced Archila's death live on the air. (See these videos on the CNN and LA Observed sites.)
The Nieman Foundation at Harvard University has selected 25 journalists from around the world to participate in its annual fellowship program. Fellows will be able to attend classes of their choice at Harvard and participate in workshops and seminars on topics like narrative writing, video editing, and computer-assisted reporting.
Circulation in Brazil is increasing once again after a decline last year during the economic crisis, O Estado de S. Paulo reports. On average, 97 papers reported a 1.5 percent increase in the first quarter of 2010, compared with an 8.6 percent drop in U.S. circulation over the six-month period ending March 31. What accounts for this difference?
Ângelo Ferreira da Silva is the second convicted assassin of TV journalist Tim Lopes to leave prison while serving a sentence allowing his limited release, the G1 news site reports. Lopes was killed by drug traffickers in 2002 after being captured and tortured while he was reporting on drug and sex trafficking at community dances in a shantytown of Rio de Janeiro.