The crisis of the traditional journalism business model has intensified with the coronavirus pandemic. In Brazil, newspapers are laying off workers, cutting wages and slashing journalists' work hours.
Following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the daily routines of people around the world, some Latin American media are dedicating spaces for the voices of those who want to share their stories, particularly those from the front lines.
About a month ago, journalists from 14 Latin American media outlets began planning a collaborative project to investigate issues related to the coronavirus pandemic. This is how Centinela Covid-19 emerged, bringing together organizations from 12 Latin American countries plus Univision Notícias, from the United States.
The rule is to work from home, however, for a certain group of press professionals, this isn’t a possibility. Photojournalists need to be on the streets to document the crisis closely.
The current pandemic highlights the need for journalists to work together as the coronavirus, as well as disinformation surrounding it, crosses languages and borders.
The reduction or suspension of print editions, salary cuts and mass layoffs. The coronavirus pandemic has hit the financial health of Latin American media companies at a time when journalistic work is essential for society.
To help arm journalists with knowledge and tools to cover the virus and the health, social and financial crises it is causing, the Knight Center is offering the free online course “Journalism in a pandemic: Covering COVID-19 now and in the future.”
Since the Salvadoran government imposed mandatory home quarantine on March 21 due to the new coronavirus pandemic, a number of executive restrictions have affected access to information and freedom of expression.
Latin America has seen an overall decline in respect for press freedom, according to the 2020 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF, for its acronym in French).
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) warned this week that governments are using the new coronavirus pandemic to publish measures that threaten freedom of expression. The two organizations cited the case of Bolivia, and CPJ also highlighted the situation in Puerto Rico.