The majority of news outlets in Brazil stay away from the topic of racism, even though they regularly deal with the issue of racial inequality, according to a study conducted by the Institute of Socioeconomic Studies (Inesc) and Andi, a not-for-profit media watchdog.
After approving a right of reply law in March 2012, the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) of the Brazilian Senate will debate the issue this Thursday, March 27, said the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (ABRAJI).
Attempting to safeguard the public image of Brazilian federal deputies, the Chamber of Deputies’ attorney general, Cláudio Cajado, proposed a plan to Google that would streamline the process to remove online content deemed offensive
A research from the non-governmental organization Article 19 finds that one journalist or human rights defender is killed every four weeks because of their work.
On the morning of Friday, March 8, political journalist Rodrigo Neto was killed in Ipatinga, Minas Gerais, after having received several death threats, which, according to him, were connected to his reporting, reported the newspaper Vale do Aço.
The Committee to Protect Journalists submitted a report on threats against the press in Latin American countries to the president of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil, Joaquim Barbosa, on Wednesday, March 6, reported the Court's website.
On Monday, March 4, the Social Communication Council of the National Congress of Brazil approved a request to speed up voting on a proposal to federalize the investigation of crimes against journalists, said newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.
The Attorney General of Goiás accused five suspects of the murder of journalist Valério Luiz de Oliveira on Wednesday, Feb. 27, said the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.
In Brazil defamation currently carries a minimum sentence of only three months, but that could change to two years if a penal code reform project currently being discussed in the Senate is approved.
A radio reporter known for his crime reporting was shot dead in the city of Jaguaribe, Ceará on Friday, Feb. 22, according to the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo. He was the second journalist killed in Brazil this year. The first killed also worked for a radio station in a community north of Rio de Janeiro.
The Brazilian media company UH News was sentenced to pay over $7,500 in moral damages, according to the court's website.
While freedom of expression remains a fundamental right guaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution, the court system has become an effective tool for crippling media organizations and silencing critical journalists and bloggers in the country. A timeline from the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas shows that there were 16 cases of the courts being used to censor journalists in 2012 alone.