In February, an organization which defends freedom of expression, Article 19, launched the Community Communication Observatory, an online platform which aims to increase the visibility of bureaucratic difficulties and legislative problems facing community media outlets in Brazil.
WikiLeaks' latest information release -- The Global Intelligence Files -- has yet to produce any major stories, but what is noteworthy are the media outlets with which the whistleblower site partnered this time around. WikiLeaks cites 25 media collaborators, none of which were among the site's original partner publications -- which condemned WikiLeak's uncensored release of its entire cache of secret diplomatic cables in September 2011 -- calling attention to the wedge driven between WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and mainstream media outlets like The New York Times and The Guardian.
Twelve Mexican soccer teams announced that they would prevent reporters from a Mexican sports newspaper from entering their stadiums, reported the magazine Proceso on Saturday, Feb. 18.
Congressional legislators in Guatemala passed a measure preventing press access to closed door sessions, reported the newspaper elPeriódico.
A mayoral candidate in Honolulu is trying to get a reporter he doesn't like thrown off the campaign trail, reported the Honolulu Civil Beat.
While trying to cover anti-mining protests in the province of Catamarca in Argentina, journalists were denied access to the area, showing a deterioration in freedom of expression, said the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA in Spanish). FOPEA also said that several protesters and journalists were detained and harassed.
A Mexican congressman has proposed a law to regulate news coverage about the arrests of organized crime suspects, according to the official state news agency Notimex.
Several freedom of information groups were outraged at a proposed reform to Guatemala's access to information law, which would make diplomatic and military documents confidential, reported the Guatemalan Center for Investigative Reporting.
The Cuban Union of Journalists (UPEC in Spanish), a syndicate aligned with the Cuban government, demanded greater access to information from official sources, according to a statement by the union.
The Argentine newspaper La Nación is negotiating the takeover of the U.S. media company ImpreMedia, which owns seven Spanish language newspapers, including La Opinión in Los Angeles and New York's El Diario/La Prensa, the oldest Spanish-language daily in the United States, reported the New York Post. La Nación, based in Buenos Aires, is Argentina's second-largest daily.
Honduran President Porfirio Lobo announced that he will send a bill to regulate the press during the inauguration of the new session of Congress, according to the Associated Press.
Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho, who exposed a child prostitution ring, and Roberto Saviano, author of the book "Gomorrah," were awarded the Swedish Olof Palme 2011 prize, reported the Associated Press.