Brazil's National Federation of Journalists (Fenaj) and the Federation of Radio Broadcasters (Fitert) have petitioned the Supreme Court to rule that Congress must regulate articles of the Constitution dealing with communication. The articles specifically deal with the right of reply, the prohibition of media monopolies, and the creation of quotas for regional content on radio and TV broadcasts.
The Federal Police are working to indict journalist Amaury Ribeiro Júnior for his alleged role in violating the financial privacy of individuals linked to opposition presidential candidate José Serra, O Estado de S. Paulo and O Globo report.
Police have arrested a man in Rio Grande do Norte state who has confessed to killing radio journalist Francisco Gomes de Medeiros on Monday, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports. Gomes was a local radio news director and blogger who had reported on corruption and crime, including drug trafficking.
Journalist Paulo Beringhs, host of a news program on the TV Brasil Central channel, funded by the government of Goiás state, declared live that his station received orders not to interview the opposition candidate for governor, Marconi Perillo, Portal Imprensa reports.
On Oct. 18, journalist Francisco Gomes de Medeiros was killed in front of his home in the city of Caicó in Rio Grande do Norte state, O Globo’s Repórter de Crime blog reports. F. Gomes, as he was known, worked in radio in the city, was an active blogger, and collaborated with various media outlets in the state. He is the second Brazilian journalist killed in three days.
Journalist Wanderlei dos Reis was shot by three men Saturday night, Oct. 16, inside his home in Ibitinga, São Paulo, O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reports. He underwent surgery for a serious leg wound and died Sunday morning.
Presidential candidate José Serra (PSDB) became upset with the press during an interview session and accused the paper Valor Econômico of favoring his opponent, the governing party candidate Dilma Rousseff (PT), iG and Folha de S. Paulo report.
Franklin Martins, the minister in charge of government advertising and relations with the media, said that Brazil was preparing a media bill that will reach Congress before the end of the year, BBC Brasil reports. According to O Estado de S. Paulo, the proposal includes the creation of a government agency in charge of regulation.
The dismissal of psychoanalyst Maria Rita Kehl from her work as a columnist for O Estado de S. Paulo, after writing about the “disqualification” of votes of poor people in Brazil brought accusations of censorship and requests for her reinstatement, Terra Magazine reports.
Despite a growing need for transparency and access to information in the public sector, Brazil remains one of the few Latin American countries that still has not approved a freedom of information (FOI) law. The relatively weak news media coverage of a freedom of information law in Brazil is one of the key factors that can explain why proposals have been floating around Congress since 2003 without finding closure and, consequently, why citizens still have no right to access information. While an information access bill was introduced in Congress in May 2009, it still is awaiting approval in the Senate.
The incumbent Workers’ Party was expected by many to win last Sunday’s election (Oct. 3) in the first round. A runoff is scheduled for Oct. 31, and media around the world are asking, what might happen next?
Two reporters ended up arrested on Sunday, Oct. 3, after being accused of defamation by electoral authorities during the elections in the states of Río de Janeiro and Rondonia, according to the local press.