WASHINGTON, D.C. – The 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12, 2010 nearly killed then-Associated Press correspondent Jonathan Katz. He was on the second floor of his home and bureau when the walls and floors buckled, collapsing under him.
Lúcio Flávio Pinto, founder and lone reporter for the blog Jornal Pessoal, has won eight prizes, published 22 books and been sued 33 times for his work as a journalist. Pinto's experience is emblematic of judicial censorship in Brazil.
A Costa Rican journalist avoided a libel lawsuit after retracting accusations she made against the brother of President Laura Chinchilla, Adrián Chinchilla, in an August 2012 article published in the newspaper La Nación.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF in French) released a report on the status of journalism in Brazil on Thursday, Jan. 24.
Nicaragua could extradite 18 Mexicans who impersonated Televisa television journalists as part of a money laundering scheme, reported the news agency DPA.
The Journalists' Union of Panama reported a 275-percent increase in the number of press freedom attacks in 2012, according the news agency Xinhua.
Reporters for Gazeta da Povo, the newspaper of record in Paraná state, Brazil, were threatened with a supposed attack, according to reports from the publication. On Monday, Dec. 17, the newsroom and the management of the newspaper received threatening telephone calls warning about a possible attack.
As part of a money laundering case against 18 Mexicans who impersonated journalists for the Televisa television network in Nicaragua, Judge Edgard Altamirano allowed the phone records of the supposed leader of the group, Raquel Alatorre Correa, to be admitted as evidence, according to the website Sin Embargo.
A lawsuit brought against two journalists by a government official in Argentina sparked outcry from the media, according to the newspaper Clarín. The head of the Federal Revenue Administration (AFIP in Spanish), Ricardo Echegaray, sued journalists Matías Longoni and Luis Majul separately for "damages and harm," added the newspaper. The official asked for almost $275,000 in restitution from each.
Journalist Fabiano Portilho Coene, owner of the news website i9 in the city of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, claimed he was attacked on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 29, reported the website G1.