The Brazilian Ministry of Justice investigated cases of explosions in cars produced in the country after a Brazilian news site produced a report about them. A digital media startup launched in Venezuela, creating a new source of independent information for citizens in that country. In Argentina, a fact-checking organization can keep politicians and other public figures accountable by comparing their statements with reality.
As Rio de Janeiro enters the final stages of preparation for the Summer Olympics, news media from all over the world are trying to understand the city and its contrasts. Inevitably, that includes going inside the favelas that are spread across the city and discussing issues like state violence, resident evictions and racism. But, it also includes exploring the art, music and spirit of people living in the favelas.
Three days before the end of their crowdfunding campaign, Brazilian journalism nonprofit Pública, an investigative organization led by women, met its goal. The campaign “Ocupe A Pública”, launched on Jan. 21, aimed to collect $50,000 Brazilian reals (around US $18,000) to fund 10 stories with themes chosen by reader-collaborators who will also be involved with their production.
“Remember that journalism is a matter too serious to leave only to journalists.” This phrase captures the spirit of the new crowdfunding project from Pública of Brazil.
In a saturated and rapidly evolving digital media landscape, discerning truth from fallacy has proven to be a challenge for readers, especially in the case of government discourse. In response to a growing demand for trustworthy and accurate news, the practice of fact-checking has emerged as a practice that allows journalists to hold public officials accountable for their statements.
A group of Colombian media organizations plans to send newsprint to Venezuelan newspapers, which are facing a shortage of the valuable resource and possible shutdowns, said the president of the Venezuelan daily El Nacional, Miguel Henrique Otero, according to the publication El Universal.
Agustín Edwards Eastman, owner of the Chilean newspapers El Mercurio and La Segunda, admitted last week to meeting with former CIA director Richard Helms and former U.S. National Security advisor Henry Kissinger shortly after the election of then-Chilean president Salvador Allende, The Santiago Times reported. The statement was made during his testimony in a trial investigating possible illegal activities by the media leading up to the 1973 coup, heightening the level of scrutiny El Mercurio has received for years regarding its role during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
Investigative news agency A Pública launched on August 8 its first collective fundraising project for independent reporting projects. Using website Catarse, the goal will be to raise enough money for 10 grants of 6,000 Brazilian reais ($2,640 USD) for Brazilian journalists to conduct their own investigations, which will be selected by the project's donors.
In the midst of a supposed crisis in investigative journalism and the advertising-based business model that still prevails in the press around the world, successful initiatives that combine financing alternatives for quality journalism promise a future for investigative journalism. In Brazil, one example is A Pública (The Public), an independent, non-profit investigative journalism agency that allows its content to be freely reproduced online. The agency was founded in March 2011 by the journalists Marina Amaral and Natália Viana, who were unsatisfied with the paths chosen by the Brazilian media.
Motivated by shared experiences with problems like organized crime or the environmental impacts of transnational projects, journalists in Latin America are establishing multi-national teams to investigate topics that stretch across borders.
Motivated by shared experiences with problems like organized crime or the environmental impacts of transnational projects, journalists in Latin America are establishing multi-national teams to investigate topics that stretch across borders.