Some 250 foreign correspondents have descended on Brazil to cover the presidential election Oct. 3, reported O Globo.
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.
Thirty armed police officers in Tocantins state attempted to stop the circulation of Veja magazine for reporting on allegations involving the state’s incumbent gubernatorial candidate, Carlos Gaguim (PMDB), writes Veja blogger Reinaldo Azevedo.
Beto Richa (PSDB), a candidate for governor of Paraná state won an Electoral Court ruling preventing media outlets from publishing poll results by several media outlets including Vox Popili, commissioned by TV Bandeirantes; Datafolha, commissioned by Folha de S. Paulo; and Ibope, commissioned by RPCTV; Terra and iG report. The polls had not changed their methodology since they originally registered with the Electoral Court.
An injunction by the Regional Electoral Court in Tocantins state says 84 media outlets are not allowed to publish or broadcast news about a criminal investigation into the state’s incumbent gubernatorial candidate, Carlos Gaguim (PMDB), writes Veja reporter Reinaldo Azevedo. Gaguim’s campaign team formally complained to the court that such reports involved the use of journalism with the political goal of supporting rival candidates.
Google this week released an online digital tool designed to track censorship around the world, according to the BBC.
The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas has created a map depicting media censorship in Brazil leading up to the Oct. 3 elections for president, governors, and federal and state senators and representatives.
With "Right to Know Day" coming up Sept. 28, the freedom of expression group Article 19 has launched a draft method of a tool designed to analyze countries' information laws.
Journalists and representatives from journalism organizations from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean are coming together for two days of discussion on coverage of drug trafficking and organized crime at the 8th Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas, Sept. 17-18, 2010, in Austin, Texas.
Brazil’s 2010 elections has been marked by the use of the internet as a means of broadening information access and bringing citizens into the electoral process, Global Voices’ Manuella Ribeiro writes. In this world of “Politics 2.0,” the candidates are using social media to campaign and participate in debates, while transparency and citizen participation projects are proliferating on the internet.