Inter American Press Association (IAPA) president Gonzalo Marroquín and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation were honored with Press Freedom Awards this week at the Institute of the Americas in La Jolla, California, IAPA announced.
Alec Duarte, a political editor for Folha de São Paulo newspaper, and Carol Rocha, a reporter for the Folha-owned Agora SP, were fired on March 31 after Twitter messages about the death of former Vice-President José Alencar, IDG Now reports.
Cuban state-television is accusing a former Reuters bureau chief of serving as a liaison for CIA intelligence, reported the Associated Press.
In an April 1 press conference, a World Cup and Sao Paulo soccer player for the Corinthians team, Adriano Leite Ribeiro, threatened to sue the newspaper O Dia, published in Río de Janeiro. The soccer player is complaining about an article that revealed a tape-recorded conversation in which he makes fun of the police and says he's not scared to drive without a license, reported the news site Terra.
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.