The transmission center of a Peruvian radio station ceased broadcasting after a fire that caused approximately $5,800 in damages, said the news portal Ifex. This is the second attack in 15 days against the Paraíso de Olmos radio station, whose administrator linked the attack to the mayor of the town, located in the northern department of Lambayeque, added Ifex.
Are media blackouts effective—or even ethical—when a journalist has been kidnapped? That’s the question Frank Smyth, a senior adviser for journalist security with the Committee to Protect Journalists, explored in a recent blog post on the organization’s website on Tuesday, Feb. 26.
A group of armed men fired at the building of Mexican newspaper El Siglo de Torreón on Tuesday Feb. 26, according to this newspaper published in Northern Mexico. It's the third time the newspaper has been attacked in the last four years. Earlier this month, five of its employees were kidnapped and freed after several hours. No one was hurt during the attack but some employees suffered from anxiety attacks, the newspaper said. On Tuesday afternoon, Torreón mayor Eduardo Olmos visited the newspaper to speak with its directors. They were also expecting the governor of Coahuila state, Rubén Moreira, according to
A radio reporter known for his crime reporting was shot dead in the city of Jaguaribe, Ceará on Friday, Feb. 22, according to the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo. He was the second journalist killed in Brazil this year. The first killed also worked for a radio station in a community north of Rio de Janeiro.
The Mexican federal government will carry out an audit of all contracts given out to provide security to journalists and human rights advocates during the administration of former president Felipe Calderón (2006-2012), according to the Campaign for Free Expression.
On Saturday, Feb. 23, two gunmen shot and killed a Peruvian photojournalist for the newspaper El Comercio, reported the website Perú 21. The attack sparked debate about the public's security, the risks journalists run and how the media covers violence.
The Brazilian media company UH News was sentenced to pay over $7,500 in moral damages, according to the court's website.
A Mexican newspaper in the state of San Luis Potosí revealed an audio recording that supposedly catches the governor's spokesman telling his staff to create anonymous social media profiles to dispute inconvenient information, according to the newspaper Pulso de San Luis.
The second witness to the April 2012 murder of Brazilian journalist Décio Sá has died after being shot seven times during an attack in January, said the newspaper Estado de S. Paulo.
Two Colombian journalists claimed they were physically and verbally attacked by a former congressman and his wife in the view of police officers, who did nothing to stop the assault, reported the Colombian Federation of Journalists (FECOLPER in Spanish). The attack took place in Sincelejo, Sucre when the two journalists tried to cover a suspected robbery at the home of former Congressman Héctor Vergara, added FECOLPER.
Two Haitian journalists said they were repeatedly beaten by Haitian President Michel Martelly’ssecurity agents when the president visited RFM radio’s headquarters on Tuesday, Feb. 12, reported news site Defend.HT.
The International Press Institute released a statement on Monday, Feb. 18, warning of rising impunity for crimes against journalists in Brazil and insisting the Congress approve a bill that would allow federal authorities to investigate attacks on press workers in the country.