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Thousands of Argentines march in favor of media law

  • By
  • September 29, 2010

By Ingrid Bachmann

Under the slogan “the media law is for everyone, for the monopolies too,” activists demanded enforcement of the Audiovisual Media Law, a rule that was passed by Congress nearly a year ago but is still unenforced due to several court rulings, La Jornada and EFE report.

In Buenos Aires, thousands of protesters gathered in front of the Supreme Court and called for full implementation of the law, Télam adds. According to the government, which supports the law, the regulations seek to decrease media concentration and split monopolies, while the opposition insists that they will decrease press freedom, AFP explains.

The leader of the Federal Authority for Audiovisual Communication Services said the demonstrations are not targeting any specific individual or company, but is simply “in favor of the media law,” AFP says.

Similarly, Página 12 quotes Néstor Busso, president of the Argentine Community Radio Forum, saying: “We must end impunity for the powerful in this country. We must do away with concentrated economic groups that want to violate the law through legal arguments and maneuverings.”

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.