Journalists and civil society representatives convened for the “Second Platform for Action to Strengthen Freedom of Expression in Central America,” where they identified the principal challenges for exercising this right and listed initiatives to promote it throughout the region.
Human rights experts from the United Nations urged the government to take urgent measures to protect journalists in Honduras, where seven media workers have been assassinated since March 1, the AFP and EFE news agencies report.
Beto Ortiz, a well-known local media figure, was dismissed from Frecuencia Latina (Channel 2) for “editorial differences,” and his column in Perú21 has been discontinued. In an interview with Dedomedio magazine, the journalist claims that his departure from both media is a way to censor him for his "impertinence" in reporting irregularities in the transfer of ownership of América TV (Channel 4) to the media groups of El Comercio and La República during the administration of President Alejandro Toledo.
Keeping with recent trends, the federal government increased its spending on advertising from $100 million in 2008 to $210 million in 2009, a pivotal election year for the ruling party, La Nación reports.
The industry groups for Brazil's biggest media outlets are considering creating a code of conduct to regulate journalism practices, Folha de S. Paulo (gated) reports.
The U.S. government’s Radio and TV Martí broadcasts to Cuba reach fewer than 2 percent of people on the island, suffer from poor editorial standards, and have failed to make a meaningful influence on Cuban society, a U.S. Senate Committee reports (PDF) this week. See reports by AFP, the Miami Herald, Washington Post and Inter Press Service.
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has presented formal charges to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, regarding two Brazilian journalists whose alleged killers remain unpunished, IAPA reports.
Veteran journalist Mónica González Mujica received the 2010 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize at a ceremony in Brisbane, Australia. In her acceptance remarks before 300 people she recognized her colleagues throughout Latin America and sought support for the region punished by killings, organized crime, self-censorship, and silence, EFE reports in Spanish. See other stories in English and Spanish.
A draft law that establishes internet rights and responsibilities for citizens, business, and the government has received hundreds of responses since the online comment period began last month. Responding to critics, the Justice Ministry has eliminated language that some claimed would effectively force web site hosts—including media outlets—to remove content immediately after private, non-judicial complaints.
Police authorities say they'll investigate charges that members of an anti-riot squad in Cali (western Colombia), beat reporters and photographers who were covering a Labor Day protest, RCN radio reports.
Public Security Minister Óscar Alvarez rejected the claims made by Amnesty International and other non-governmental organizations that point to the existence of an organized group that seeks to silence the Honduran press, Spain's El Mundo reports, with information from news agencies.
Journalists and organizations throughout the world marked World Press Freedom Day Monday (May 3). UNESCO's conference in Australia about defending access to information ended with auma declaration asking countries to enact laws "guaranteeing the right to information in accordance with the internationally-recognized principle of maximum disclosure." See more information about the day's events.