After criticism from journalist associations and entities, Judge Sergio Moro, who is responsible for cases dealing with the Lava Jato corruption scandal, backed down from the decision to access communications of Brazilian blogger Eduardo Guimarães. In an order published on March 23, Moro annulled the material obtained with the seizure of Guimarães’ telephones and computers, which would allow the identification of his sources.
The Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) and nonprofit Transparency Brazil launched the project Achados e Pedidos (Request and Found), which aims to be the country’s largest platform for requests and responses to the Law of Access to Information (LAI), as well as a tool to monitor compliance with the legislation.
The photos on Simon Romero’s Instagram account are microcosms of the places and people has has written about in the region for more than a decade. Views of abandoned swimming pools in Henry Ford’s long-forgotten town in the Amazon, of a fisherman banked along the Río de la Plata in Buenos Aires, or artists “pimping” the carts of trash collectors in Rio and guanacos in Patagonia.
Although the number of murders of Brazilian journalists has dropped to only two cases in 2016, violations against the press have manifested in other ways. The annual report from the Brazilian Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters (Abert) reported that, compared to 2015, last year saw a 65.5 percent increase in cases of violations to freedom of expression.
Renowned university journalism programs across Brazil will open courses on entrepreneurship, management and business from now until 2018, and many have already included the content into their curricula.
Journalist Leandro Stoliar of Rede Record, who was detained in Venezuela while reporting on allegations of corruption, said he was treated "as a prisoner, a criminal" during the 30 hours he was detained. Stoliar said the press is not free to work in the country, where "information is a crime."
Judge Arnaldo Camanho de Assis, of the Federal District Court of Justice, suspended the censorship of Folha de S. Paulo's report on the blackmail carried out by a hacker against the first lady of Brazil, Marcela Temer. The decision came after Folha filed an appeal.
In Brazil, journalism administrators still face a number of problems reformulating their curricula and adapting to the new guidelines approved for the degree in September 2013 by the National Education Council.
When he was laid off from Folha de S. Paulo in 2014, political reporter and columnist Fernando Rodrigues did not stop his behind-the-scenes coverage of power in Brasilia. He continued to write for his blog, which he had kept for 14 years, and to participate in a radio show. Shortly thereafter, he launched his own company, an innovative startup that has been growing, making profits and hiring journalists.
Journalists from Latin American countries have until Feb. 3 to apply to attend a two-week workshop in São Paulo, Brazil on journalism and internet policies. InternetLab, which organizes the crash course, offers travel grants to cover the cost of lodging for journalists selected for the program.
For almost thirty years, Lúcio Flávio Pinto has been the sole writer and editor of a unique and independent newspaper, which investigators and closely monitors in the powerful in Pará and the rest of Brazil’s Amazon region. His reporting made him a renowned and award-winning journalist around the globe, but also attracted threats and attacks.
Grupo Globo, the largest media conglomerate in Brazil and Latin America, announced on Jan. 19 that it would unify the newsrooms of its newspapers Extra and O Globo. As part of the process, the outlets fired more than 30 journalists. According to the editorial director of O Globo, Ascânio Seleme, the measure aims to streamline costs and implement “radical” changes, which should turn the focus of the outlets to digital production.