The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) criticized President Rafael Correa for suing journalists and media executives, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged him to withdraw the legal complaints.
The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, asked for $80 million in damages from the newspaper El Universo, in a complaint filed for alleged libel, El Universo reported.
More than half of Panamanians believe freedom of expression is at risk in their country, where in recent months the press has been in conflict with the government of President Ricardo Martinelli, reported the AFP news agency.
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal initiated by a group of 15 journalists and academics against a constitutional provision that bans private individuals from buying electoral ad space on radio and TV, Milenio reports.
Argentina's Clarín newspaper published a blank front page Monday, March 28, in protest against the 12-hour blockade at the printing press the previous day that had prevented normal circulation of the country's largest newspaper, reported MercoPress, Notimex and La Gaceta.
Only hours after a TV host was killed in northern Mexico, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported the disappearance of another journalist in Mexico, where in the last four years violence linked to drug trafficking has exploded.
President Evo Morales, who has a tense relationship with the press, lashed out again against some opposition media, accusing them of trying to weaken his administration, IFEX reports.
Blogger Ricardo Gama was shot three times the morning of Wednesday, March 23 in Copacabana in southern Rio de Janeiro, according to O Globo. The blogger was taken to the hospital where he was in serious condition, reported Estado de São Paulo.
After the shutdown of two community radio stations in Mexico during the past two weeks, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) is calling on Mexican authorities to stop "criminalizing" community stations, reported Púlsar, the information agency for AMARC of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Nearly 50 Mexican media organizations signed an agreement Thursday about coverage of drug trafficking. The pact seeks to prevent excessive publication of violent images and stories and to guarantee the safety of journalists who expose themselves daily to the growing violence of organized crime, which has left more than 34,000 deaths in four years. See stories in English by the Associated Press and Reuters.
While President Rafael Correa’s March 18 announcement that he was suing a pair of journalists is still the talk of the town, the leader announced another lawsuit – this time against an editorial writer and the directors of El Universo newspaper, Vistazo.com reports.
Reporters without Borders (RSF) reports that it has received a copy of a new set of threats against journalists and human rights activists in Colombia from the Black Eagles paramilitary group, which for the last five years has engaged in acts of violence and intimidation against the press.