In the run up to Argentine general elections this October, the Association of Argentine Journalistic Entities (ADEPA for its acronym in Spanish) called on political candidates to protect press freedom and pointed to attacks from organized crime as increasing threats to journalists.
After fracturing her jaw with a single stroke, Susana Morazán’s aggressors made a threat: “stop talking bad about the government.” The event took place on Jan. 19, when two men riding motorcycles intercepted the TV Azteca Guatemala host while she was driving her car, according to Prensa Libre.
Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) received the headlines and contents of the country's infamous tabloid newspapers known as "prensa chicha" before they were published, according to recent testimony heard at Fujimori's most recent trial over accusations that his government financed the newspapers in hope of boosting his 2000 election campaign.
Two media outlets in El Salvador have announced that they are going to use nonmilitary drones to cover the upcoming presidential election. The drones are to provide videos, photos and new perspectives of the Feb. 2 election for the 2014-2019 term, said Salvadorian newspapers El Diario de Hoy and La Prensa Gráfica.
A provincial Honduran journalist was gunned down and killed on Dec. 7, Reporters Without Borders informed. Juan Carlos Argeñal, 49, is the third journalist this year to be murdered in the country.
Threats against the press in Mexico increased 46% in the first half of 2013 in comparison with the same period last year, according to a new report from the organization Artículo 19. In the first part of 2013, the organization recorded a total of 151 attacks against journalists and members of the media, including two killings, one disappearance, four armed attacks, 26 threats, and seven violations of freedom of expression.
Various journalists have claimed that their coverage was restricted during the recent elections in Venezuela, won by Hugo Chávez’s designated successor Nicolás Maduro. According to the Press and Society Institute (IPYS), some local journalists had problems getting into voting centers and were impeded by the authorities.
On Thursday night in Venezuela, interim President Nicolás Maduro ended his campaign in Caracas at the same time as opposition candidate Henrique Capriles closed his in Barquisimeto, the capital of Lara, the state where he was governor.
The opposition candidate for President of Venezuela, Henrique Capriles, has accused Nicolás Maduro, the incumbent and anointed successor to the late Hugo Chávez, of using public media to benefit his campaign, reported the website Informe21.
The reelected president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, said the “big loser” of the election was the country’s private press when asked how it would figure in to his new mandate, said the newspaper El Universo. Correa said he would continue with the Communications Law because what the people want “is an honest and responsible press. Never with censorship, but with ulterior responsibility.”
A few days before the presidential and parliamentarian elections in Ecuador, which will take place on Feb. 17, fears of lawsuits and other legal liabilities are holding back journalistic coverage.
The British newspaper the Guardian released a statement admitting that Mexican television broadcaster Televisa' elections coverage complied with the Federal Election Institute's impartiality rules.