The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has called on the Venezuelan government to end its defamation campaign against the newspaper Notitarde, IAPA announced on its website on Friday, May 18. According to IAPA, the campaign is a "a malicious discrediting maneuver" initiated by federal and state legislators of the ruling party.
The Bolivian Senate has proposed a bill that would regulate social networks, and would be attached to the Law to Fight Against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination, reported the news site Eju TV.
Brazilian radio journalist José Luiz Datena, said on Tuesday, May 15, on his morning radio show that the station was suffering pressure from the mayor of São Paulo, Gilberto Kassab, due to the accusations that the journalist made on his TV program Brasil Urgente, according to the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. Because of this, the journalist threatened to go off the air, reported Yahoo.
At least three Argentine journalists were threatened in recent days, reported the radio station FM Activa. To be a journalist in Argentina is becoming a harder task; aside from having many problems with a government that refuses to respect freedom of information and of the press, lately, the attacks and threats against journalists are becoming more frequent in the country.
Although the headquarters of the Mexican newspaper El Mañana suffered an armed attack in the border city of Nuevo Laredo on the night of Friday, May 11; the reporters of the newspaper managed to finish Saturday's edition and return to work on the next day, reported the newspaper Detroit Free Press. Not even a grenade can stop the presses in Mexico,” was the headline for the Detroit Free Press, which highlighted the armed attack against the newspaper.
The Center for Informative Reports of Guatemala (Cerigua in Spanish) criticized the closure of two community radio stations and six local television channels so far in May. According to Cerigua, dozens of community broadcasters operate illegally because of a lack of legislation that would grant them operating licenses. As a result, the stations often suffer persecution at the hands of local authorities.
Two editors from TV channel Canal 13 of Chile resigned, alleging censorship after they were told to stop working on a a controversial report about discrimination against domestic workers in the country, reported the news agency Emol and the Radio Universidad de Chile.
After the United States criticized the state of freedom of expression in Ecuador, President Rafael Correa fired back, saying it was an “embarrassment” that U.S. President Barack Obama would “defend informants,” according to the news agency AFP.
After the killing of four Mexican journalists in Veracruz in less than a week, a few local news media managers ordered their reporters not to attend the funerals of their colleagues as a precautionary measure, reported the news agency AFP.
A new report from the Office of Journalist Human Rights of the National Journalists Association of Peru (ANP in Spanish) shows 49 attacks against journalists recorded in Peru during the first months of 2012. Most assaults were done by public officials (17), followed by civilians (16), non-identified attackers (11), news outlet owners/managers (4), and police/military (1). Among the assaulted journalists, 12 of them were women, according to the report.
As the rest of the world celebrated World Press Freedom Day, Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, Canada, called for police to file charges against Toronto Sun reporter Daniel Dale, and demanded that Dale be removed from the city hall beat, saying he would not speak with any members of the media if Dale were around, reported CTV News and the National Post.
The U.S. government called on Ecuador to guarantee freedom of expression “and to make sure journalists can work without fear of threats or punishments," reported the news agency EFE. The U.S. government also criticized the case of Ecuadorian journalist Cesar Ricaurte, director of the Ecuadorian NGO Fundamedios, who has received death threats for his criticisms against the government, added EFE.