President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva issued a decree that created an intergovernmental commission to propose changes to the regulatory system that governs broadcast media, O Estado de S. Paulo reports.
Cuban authorities have blocked Yoani Sanchez, author of Generation Y, from traveling to Brazil to see a documentary on censorship in Cuba and Honduras, EFE reports.
A Brazilian federal court ordered the federal government to pay more than $28,000 in "moral damages" to a freelance photographer who, 10 years ago, was physically and verbally assaulted by soldiers during an end-of-the-year party at the Copacabana fort in Rio de Janeiro.
Representatives from Brazil's media outlets sent a document to Minister Samuel Pinheiro Guimaraes, the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs, arguing that "freedom to think and express opinions and information, without control by whomever, is the very essence of democracy," according to Folha de S. Paulo (link for subscribers) and O Globo.
The proposed amendment to the Constitution (PEC 386/09) that would re-establish the requirement for a professional degree in order to practice journalism was approved Wednesday, July 14, by a special commission of Brazil's House of Representatives, reported Agência Câmara. The proposal first must be voted on by the full House before it can go to a vote in the Senate.
The Rio de Janeiro-based Jornal do Brasil will stop circulating its 119-year-old print edition and appear only online, O Globo reports. The paper’s owner, Nelson Tanure, says he will set the date for the changeover this week.
Journalist Rodrigo Santos, of Rádio Cidade in Brusque, Santa Catarina, was punched and kicked by an official of the Catarinense Soccer Federation (FCF), Delfim Peixoto Neto, reported Diário Catarinense. After the attack, Santos lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital.
Reporter Márcia Pache, of TV Centro Oeste, the affiliate of the channel Sistema Brasileño de Televisión (SBT) in Mato Grosso, filed another complaint against Councilman Lourivaldo Rodrigues de Moraes, of the city of Pontes e Lacerda, for continuing to intimidate her, reported Comunique-se.
The attorney general's office has asked the National Archive to uncomplicate the public’s access to documents from the military dictatorship (1964-85) and to abandon a series of bureaucratic demands, Folha de S. Paulo reports. (Read the Defender’s recommendation, in Portuguese, in PDF.)
During the World Cup, the press often takes on the emotions of the fans and makes fun of rival teams. Humor is part of the game. But the tone Brazilian channel SporTv, owned by Globo, used to refer to Paraguay during the recent game has stunned fans, as the channel insulted the country and its people, rather than focusing on soccer.
The newspaper Jornal do Brasil, published for 119 years in Rio de Janeiro, is conducting research among its readers to decide whether to do away with the print version and offer only a digital edition. The newspaper published a half-page announcement on June 30 inviting its readers to respond.
The frustration of Brazilian journalists with World Cup coverage has drawn the attention of the international press. In an interesting report this week, the New York Times contrasts the proximity and informality of the relationship between reporters and athletes during soccer games in Brazil, with the distance FIFA and coach Dunga have imposed.