Under the slogan “the media law is for everyone, for the monopolies too,” activists demanded enforcement of the Audiovisual Media Law, a rule that was passed by Congress nearly a year ago but is still unenforced due to several court rulings, La Jornada and EFE report.
The Association of Argentine Journalistic Entities (ADEPA) said in its annual report that President Cristina Fernández's government acts as if journalism is "an enemy” and warned that pressure on the media from the authorities is degrading freedom of expression.
“Never let fear become an editor,” said Peruvian Gustavo Gorriti at the award ceremony for the Cemex+FNPI New Journalism Prize in Monterrey, Mexico. The reporter, honored for his outstanding track record of investigative coverage, asked his fellow journalists to not let “intimidation undermine your work,” La Jornada and Milenio report.
According to Perfil, the legal offensive by the government against the country’s most prolific dailies has taken a new step, as it prepares to open criminal charges against the owner and director of Clárin Group, Ernestina Herrera de Noble and Héctor Magnetto, respectively, and the director of La Nación, Bartolomé Mitre. They are accused of being direct accomplices in crimes against humanity during the Argentine dictatorship (1976-1983).
Argentina's consumer defense office issued a $1.25 million fine to Cablevisión, the Internet provider of the media company Grupo Clarín, accusing the company of selling Internet access with an expired license from Fibertel, reported El Siglo de Tucumán.
Prosecutors in the western city of Mendoza opened a case against Víctor Fayad, the city’s mayor, for serious threats he allegedly made to the news director of MDZ Online via text messages last April, Perfil and Los Andes report.
Argentina's president, Cristina Fernández, signed the regulations for a decree that returns exclusivity of newspaper and magazine sales to vendors, known as “canillitas”, selling publications in kiosks or on the street, reported the local press.
Argentine senators unanimously approved a bill guaranteeing free public information access in the country, reported La Nación. The measure will go to the House for debate at the end of the month, and is expected to be approved, added the state agency Télam and the publication Perfil.
A government resolution gives large media companies in Argentina one year, as of Thursday, Sept. 9, to get rid of any broadcast licenses that exceed the maximum number permitted under the new audiovisual communication law, reported Página 12.
The media companies with good relationships with the government of Argentine President Cristina Fernández received during the first months of 2010 as much as 780 times more revenue from official ads than those media considered enemies of the administration, reported Clarín. The calculation evaluated the amount each media company received multiplied by the amount of people the ad reached, explained O Globo.