On Wednesday Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli denied a petition from a human rights organization to allow deported Spanish journalists accused of inciting protests to return to Panama, reported La Estrella.
In an article titled “the end of censorship,” Caras magazine announced that it was authorized by a São Paulo state court to publish a letter sent by actress Cibele Dorsa, who died after allegedly committing suicide March 26.
Alec Duarte, a political editor for Folha de São Paulo newspaper, and Carol Rocha, a reporter for the Folha-owned Agora SP, were fired on March 31 after Twitter messages about the death of former Vice-President José Alencar, IDG Now reports.
Cuban state-television is accusing a former Reuters bureau chief of serving as a liaison for CIA intelligence, reported the Associated Press.
In an April 1 press conference, a World Cup and Sao Paulo soccer player for the Corinthians team, Adriano Leite Ribeiro, threatened to sue the newspaper O Dia, published in Río de Janeiro. The soccer player is complaining about an article that revealed a tape-recorded conversation in which he makes fun of the police and says he's not scared to drive without a license, reported the news site Terra.
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) criticized President Rafael Correa for suing journalists and media executives, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged him to withdraw the legal complaints.
Reporter Pedro López, a correspondent for Radio Progreso in Cortés Department western Honduras, was held by police for four hours along with demonstrators. He was covering a national strike on Wednesday, El Patriota reports.
After the recent controversial firing of journalist Aguirre Peixoto, the newspaper A Tarde is embroiled in another controversy over one of its employees. Reporter Emanuella Sombra resigned, Monday, March 28, after disagreeing with edits that were made to her interview with the singer Ivete Sangalo, reported the news site Grande Bahia. According to the journalist, an important part of her article, where the singer spoke about a crisis in the company and a lawsuit involving an ex-employee, was edited out against her will.
The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, asked for $80 million in damages from the newspaper El Universo, in a complaint filed for alleged libel, El Universo reported.
More than half of Panamanians believe freedom of expression is at risk in their country, where in recent months the press has been in conflict with the government of President Ricardo Martinelli, reported the AFP news agency.
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal initiated by a group of 15 journalists and academics against a constitutional provision that bans private individuals from buying electoral ad space on radio and TV, Milenio reports.
Argentina's Clarín newspaper published a blank front page Monday, March 28, in protest against the 12-hour blockade at the printing press the previous day that had prevented normal circulation of the country's largest newspaper, reported MercoPress, Notimex and La Gaceta.