In the lead-up to the Oct. 3 Brazilian elections, industry groups have released reports documenting threats to free expression in the country.
President José Mujica told the Brazilian magazine Veja that rulers shouldn’t respond to criticism from the press, because “if you respond you lose twice,” EFE reports.
Marvin del Cid Acevedo, part of the investigative team for the Guatemalan newspaper elPeriódico, had his home broken into for a second time, and his laptop, where he stores all the documents associated with his journalistic work, was stolen, reported Cerigua.
Under the slogan “the media law is for everyone, for the monopolies too,” activists demanded enforcement of the Audiovisual Media Law, a rule that was passed by Congress nearly a year ago but is still unenforced due to several court rulings, La Jornada and EFE report.
A 16th Cuban journalist has been released from prison and gone into exile in Spain, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
In what has been characterized as a “blow to the media,” the Supreme Court of Justice of El Salvador declared unconstitutional a section of the penal code that exempted media, reporters, editors and owners from legal responsibility for defamation. According to the ruling, the law violated the principle of equality, reported El Mundo and El Faro.
The Association of Argentine Journalistic Entities (ADEPA) said in its annual report that President Cristina Fernández's government acts as if journalism is "an enemy” and warned that pressure on the media from the authorities is degrading freedom of expression.
Gerardo Rodriguez, editor of the Mexican newspaper El Diario de Juarez, spoke with NPR during an interview about violence, impunity, and the editorial the newspaper published Sunday, Sept. 19, asking drug cartels for a truce.
The chain Radio France Internationale (RFI) came out in defense of its correspondent in Caracas, Venezuela, journalist Andreína Flores, whom President Hugo Chavez during a press conference accused of being ignorant and wanting to manipulate information, reported El Universal.
It’s indeed an honor and a privilege to be with you on this wonderful, certainly very memorable evening to accept the Elijah Lovejoy Award. It’s great to be in Maine in my favorite season of the year, fall, and particularly here in this gorgeous campus of Colby College.
Senators said they will approve without any changes the controversial anti-racism law proposed by Bolivian President Evo Morales, reported La Razón. The document was approved by the lower house already, and is under discussion in the senate.
With "Right to Know Day" coming up Sept. 28, the freedom of expression group Article 19 has launched a draft method of a tool designed to analyze countries' information laws.