Plaza Pública is an online, independent, non-profit newspaper that began at the start of this year in Guatemala. In an interview with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, journalist Martín Rodríguez Pellecer, founder and director of the site, described the newspaper as a platform in which citizens can discuss and debate and hold others accountable. Plaza Pública has dedicated itself to investigating and covering topics that the traditional Guatemalan press has considered taboo, such as the agrarian situation, corruption among governments and businesses, and drug trafficking. As Guatemala's presidentia
The Human Rights Foundation sent a letter to the judges of the Second Criminal Chamber of Ecuador’s National Court of Justice asking them to accept an appeal of the libel sentence against journalist Emilio Palacio and the owners of the El Universo newspaper, reported the same organization. The accused face three years in prison and $40 million in damages.
On Tuesday, Oct. 25, a group of journalists and organizations defending human rights appeared at a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), in Washington D.C., to present the problems that are affecting freedom of expression in Ecuador.
Mexican organizations Article 19 and Fundar are urging the government to limit spending on communication and advertising just days before the 2012 Expenditure Budget is set to be debated in the Mexican Chamber of Deputies, according to the website Avance MX.
Colombian journalist Carlos Eduardo Huertas is the investigations editor for the political magazine Semana and the founder of the Newsroom Council, which promotes investigative journalism. In his career as a journalist Huertas has specialized in themes like corruption, human rights and the environment. He has also been involved in many of the magazine's award-winning projects, including the King of Spain in 2008, the Press and Society Institute's Best Corruption Investigative journalism in Latin America and the Caribbean award, and Transparency International's award for investigating the connections between paramilit
The bill enabling the constitutional right to access public information in Brazil passed its last hurdle in the South American country's Senate on Oct. 25. The Senate approved the reforms made by the lower house in 2010 and resisted amendments in favor of sealing some secret government documents indefinitely.
A new organization uniting 10 foreign correspondent associations in South America was created on Oct. 26 in Santiago, Chile, reported the news agency DPA.
Nearly two years after the bill was first introduced in the National Congress, the Brazilian Senate approved the Public Information Access Law on Oct. 25, reported G1. During the bill's long road to ratification it depended on the support of the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji in Portuguese), the NGO Article 19, and the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. Along with these organizations, journalists like Fernando Rodrigues, who led the campaign for the right to access to information in Brazil, were also critical in the bill's passage. The only step left is President Dilma Rousse
Bolivia’s National Association of the Press denounced restrictions from a new campaign rule, saying the regulation impeded journalists’ ability to effectively cover the Andean country’s first judicial elections held Oct. 16, reported IFEX.
Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo decided to postpone the four-month suspension against the private opposition television broadcaster CNS until Dec.1, instead of the original Oct. 3 date, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Tensions between the Costa Rican press and President Laura Chinchilla's staff came to a head when the Journalists Union of Costa Rica sent a letter to her office demanding an explanation for recent obstacles and intimidatory acts against journalists, the organization reported.
A new public initiative allows Mexicans to use social media and the Internet to report discriminatory content and messages in news media and advertising, according to a press release by the Human Rights Commission (CHDF in Spanish).