The governor of the central-western state of Mato Gross, Silval Barbosa, asked the press to not publish negative stories about the progress of development projects for the 2014 World Cup, which will be held in Brazil, Olhar Direto reports.
Valdir Cardoso, the Brazilian journalist responsible for the site O Jornal MS, is denouncing the way a judicial order to confiscate one of his videos was carried out, according to the digital newspaper Midiamax. The video in question is about a supposed corruption case involving government officials from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
In a study launched Monday, May 2, Freedom House classified Brazil as only “partially free” and placed it as the 90th in the world for press freedom and only 22nd (out of 35) in the Americas. What is helping drive this relatively low ranking is the use of the courts to harass journalists.
A state judge in Brazil's Federal District (DF) sentenced Editora Abril – the company that publishes Veja magazine – and journalist Diego Escosteguy to pay $64,000 in damages to ex DF Governor Joaquim Roriz, reports Consultor Jurídico. The court ruled that Veja magazine used offensive language in a story that discussed the politician.
Barely more than a week after two Peruvian TV journalists claimed El Comercio fired them for failing to toe the party line, three reporters for Radio Líder resigned after reportedly being told to not criticize presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, Terra reports.
In a new punch thrown in the fight between Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa and the opposition media, the government announced that it had suspended El Universo newspaper’s presidential press credential for its alleged “failure to comply with constitutional provisions,” El Nacional reports.
Senator Roberto Requião (PMDB) forcefully took Radio Bandeirantes reporter Victor Boyadjian’s tape recorder after being asked about his $15,000 a month pension, O Globo reports. He receives the pension as the former governor of Paraná, a post from which he resigned to run for the Senate.
Two journalists who were fired April 20 by the TV station Canal N, owned by El Comercio, say they were punished for not supporting presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, Los Andes reports.
A judge in Tocantins state has issued an indefinite injunction against the Portal Arnaldo Filho news site, blocking it from publishing complaints by ex-workers at a private school in the city of Araguaína, Conexão Tocantins reports.
Even as the number of Internet users continues to grow, Internet freedom is increasingly threatened, and countries such as Venezuela, Jordan and Russia are especially at risk, according to a new report from Freedom House.