The last six months represented the worst semester for journalists in the Americas in the last five years, according to the Inter American Press Association, news agency EFE reported. The killing of journalists and the various government measures that restrict access to information were some of the reasons that IAPA cited during its General Assembly, which took place in Denver last weekend.
The killing of a 16 year old girl on June 10 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, has captivated national attention for the last three weeks, as well as unfurling a media storm that has now turned into a topic of discussion. Critiques on the media immediately began following coverage of the case and reached their highest level with the publication in an Argentinean daily of several photos of the victim.
Journalists in Argentina had plenty to say last week about their sour relationship with the country's political leaders -- and the problems that threaten the profession from within.
Ten investigative media platforms from Latin America combined forces to create ALiados, a network to strengthen mutual cooperation and find new ways to sustain independent journalism.
Following seven hours of debate, the city government of Buenos Aires on Thursday, May 30, passed legislation relating to the protection of press and civil liberties, AFP reported. The approved text states that "the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires guarantees the rights of all to freely search, express, receive and disseminate, through whichever manner they choose, information, opinions, ideas, and cultural demonstrations," AFP added.
With six countries listed without a free press, including three countries with some of the highest levels of impunity in the world for press crimes, Latin American freedom of expression is at its lowest levels since 1989.
At least seven journalists belonging to different outlets were wounded by rubber bullets fired by the Metropolitan Police of Buenos Aires at a protest on April 26 2013.
An Argentine journalist has been ordered to pay damages for a 2002 story reporting that a businessman was under investigation for tax evasion, in spite of the fact that the story was based on official documents, reported the newspaper La Capital. The ruling against Adrián Murano, editor in chief of the magazine Veintitrés, stipulates that he must pay 50,000 Argentine pesos (USD $10,000) in damages to Enrique Estevanez, added the paper.
The Security Ministry of Santa Fé province (in the heart of Argentina) decided to fire two police officers after attacking and detaining a journalist and a street vendor, news portal El Litoral reported.
An Argentine journalist has denounced threats and censorship while presenting his book “The Business of Human Rights” in the northeastern province of Chaco, which is covered in three chapters of the book.
The firings of three journalists in Argentina under different circumstances are a demonstration of the “lack of labor guarantees" that prevent reporters from exercising their profession in “liberty and without suffering reprisals,”
The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) registered a total of 172 attacks against the country’s press in 2012, according to a report released by the organization’s Freedom of Expression in Argentina Monitor, presented on March 22.