By Maira Magro
The proposed amendment to the Constitution (PEC 386/09) that would re-establish the requirement for a professional degree in order to practice journalism was approved Wednesday, July 14, by a special commission of Brazil's House of Representatives, reported Agência Câmara. The proposal first must be voted on by the full House before it can go to a vote in the Senate.
Last year, the Federal Supreme Court repealed the law that made a degree mandatory, arguing that it restricted freedom of expression. The change approved by the House commission would amend article 220 of the federal Constitution to specify that the requirement “is not a restriction on freedom of thought or journalistic information."
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
