In June 2020, with Brazil rapidly accumulating cases and deaths from COVID-19, the federal government acted to hide the reality of the pandemic in the country. Six news outlets responded by establishing a consortium to release COVID-19 data. It ended in January, but leaves behind lessons on the value of transparency and collaboration.
LatAm Journalism Review attended and drew conclusions from "How to include more LGBTQ+ people in newsrooms," the second of four webinars organized by the newly created Network for Diversity in Latin American Journalism. This network seeks to promote diversity in Latin American newsrooms, as well as in the news and content they produce.
At least eight journalists, media entrepreneurs and journalism students were among the 222 political prisoners released and exiled to the United States, while Daniel Ortega's regime threatens to strip away their citizenship and rights as Nicaraguans.
More than 200 threats and two murders of journalists were recorded by Colombia's Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP, by its Spanish acronym) during 2022. As part of Colombia's Journalist's Day, commemorated on Feb. 9, FLIP published its annual report. It found that there was scant progress for a press attacked by armed groups and public officials.
In Brazil, independent media have been working to make public transparency the rule, both in government and in newsrooms. Journalists from Fiquem Sabendo and Agência Pública give tips on how to conduct investigations using the Access to Information Law (LAI).
Proyecto Desclasificados, in Argentina, created a public and easily accessible database of declassified U.S. government documents related to Argentina, while Archivero, in Mexico, works against the authorities' refusal to allow access to documents classified as "state secrets" or "national security."
The research article “Spatial dimensions within hierarchy of influences: How re-conceived notions of space in networked societies impact Latin American journalists” shows that the geographic location of the newsroom influences the perception of the journalistic function.
For experts, as long as there is no comprehensive policy focused on prevention, protection and prosecution of crimes against journalists, it will be difficult for the panorama to change. But the support of society is also needed: It needs to understand and defend freedom of the press as a collective right.
The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas has opened registration for the 24th International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ), which is taking place on April 14 and 15, 2023, at the University of Texas at Austin. A preliminary list of speakers is now available and more will be added soon. The full program will be published shortly.
The first webinar held by the newly created Network for Diversity in Latin American Journalism addressed the myths about diversity in journalism and shared lessons on how to overcome them. Journalists Lucia Solis, Ana Acosta, and María Eugenia Ludueña shared reflections and best practices for applying a diversity approach to journalism during a conversation held in Spanish on Jan. 26.
“News product management: How to adopt ‘product thinking’ in your newsroom” is a massive open online course (MOOC) in Portuguese that runs from Feb. 13 to March 12, 2023. At the end of the course, students will understand which skill sets they need in order to work with product in a newsroom, and they will be able to start adopting a product approach.
Venezuela has a favorable climate for disinformation and its government has taken advantage of the reach of social media to spread false information. A group of media and digital rights organizations have created the fact-checking network C-Informa to show how disinformation works in that country.