Reporters Without Borders (RSF) featured 14 journalists from Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti and Peru in a list of 100 Information Heroes that the organization put together to highlight the work of journalists facing adverse circumstances around the globe and celebrate World Press Freedom Day, which takes place each year on May 3.
For Marianela Balbi, executive director of the Institute of Press and Society (IPYS) in Venezuela, the government of President Nicolás Maduro is censoring critical media outlets -- with tactics like the blockage of live broadcasts of the protests -- in an effort to prevent more people from joining the manifestations.
On Feb. 28, the Honduran government ordered the cancelation of the legal status of 5,429 non-governmental organizations, including freedom of expression organization Committee for Free Expression (C-Libre), which condemned the order in a public alert published on March 7, asking for support from national and international organizations.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signed the country’s first Transparency and Access to Public Information Law today March 6, reported the Foundation for Freedom of the Press (FLIP).
A panel of journalists gathered Feb. 21 at the 2014 Lozano Long Conference at the University of Texas at Austin to reflect on their coverage of the Central American revolutions from the 1970’s to 1990’s. The roundtable discussion featured the raw accounts of the journalists and highlighted the importance of a new effort by the university's LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections to develop the largest collection of archives dedicated to the wars that took place in Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Journalists and citizens of Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries interested in investigative journalism can now count on a guidebook by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Titled “Story-based Inquiry: a Manual for Investigative Journalists,” the handbook was first launched in English in 2009 and this week was released in Spanish and Portuguese.
The Colombian news channel NTN 24, which transmits through cable in Venezuela, was taken off the air after reporting on the massive protests that shook the entire country on Feb. 12. According to Caracol Radio, the Venezuelan government said the news channel was misinforming on the events.
Prominent blogger Yoani Sánchez said she plans to launch a digital newspaper in her native Cuba. The announcement took place on Jan. 31 during the Hay Festival, in the Colombian city of Cartagena.
The European Journalism Centre (EJC) released this week the first edition of its Verification Handbook, a free guide in English on fact checking digital content with a focus on emergency coverage.
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) applauded the decision by the Ecuadorian Constitutional Court to accept a lawsuit filed last year challenging the legality of the country’s controversial Organic Communications Law. IAPA was hopeful the action will refuel the debate over governmental measures set by the law that limit freedom of expression in the country.
A controversial state secrecy law quietly passed by Honduran lawmakers last week was suspended Friday Jan. 17 after strong backlash from civil society groups including Reporters Without Borders, who said the law unduly restricted freedom of information.
The Law on Secret Information, discreetly adopted by the Honduran parliament on Jan. 13, endangers Hondurans’ access to public information and the transparency of their new government, according to various human rights organizations like Reporters Without Borders.