With violence, political unrest and impunity increasingly taking hold of Latin America, freedom of expression is constantly being violated in Central American countries, with journalists being threatened, attacked, intimidated, kidnapped, tortured and killed for political, monetary, criminal and ideological motivations.
Amy Webb didn’t have to look far for an example of how Spark Camp, an "un-conference" she helps organize, pulls disparate people together for an informal exchange of ideas and problem solving. Co-hosted by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americasand the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, Spark Camp attracted an impressive variety of talented people to spend three days in January — in Austin — to ruminate on the crossroads of data and online journalism.
According to Nieman Fellow Carlos Eduardo Huertas, columnist for the Colombian magazine Semana and founding director of the Consejo de Redacción (CdR), or Newsroom Council, today's newsrooms are caught between what journalism used to be, and what it can be in the future. Huertas, a participant in the second Spark Camp, held Jan. 13-15 in Austin, TX, spoke with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas about the importance of data journalism and computer assisted reporting.
After gathering Sept. 8-10 for the 9th Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas, more than 50 journalists and experts from 20 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean have decided to look at ways to collaborate across countries.
“The immigrant is the prophet of the future, it is who we are becoming,” said Sandy Close in her keynote speech at the 9th Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas on Saturday, Sept. 10.
Day two of the 9th Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas started Saturday morning with a panel on Caribbean migration.
Leaky roofs, wet mattresses, lack of drinking water, children separated from their parents and indefinite periods of detention are just some of the problems with migrant stations and immigrant detention centers in southern Mexico.
"You can't imagine El Salvador without immigrants," said José Luis Benítez, keynote speaker for the 9th Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas.
When it comes to immigration coverage, the importance of in-depth reporting, going beyond stereotypes, and avoiding the use of dehumanizing terms like "illegal" are just some of the themes that emerged during the panel discussion.
About 50 journalists and experts from 20 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean are gathering Sept. 8-10, 2011, in Austin, Texas, for the 9th Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas.
The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas is hosting an innovative, all-digital photo exhibit and panel discussion on covering migration in the Americas as part of the 2011 Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas.
The founder and director of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, professor Rosental Calmon Alves, of the University of Texas at Austin, will give the opening address of the 34th Brazilian Congress of Communiaction Sciences.