The Argentine government today, Aug. 24, will release a 400-page report that supposedly shows ties between the country's two largest newspapers and the military dictatorship (1976-1983), reported the news agency Télam. The document analyzes the newspapers' purchase in 1976 of Papel Prensa, Agentina's largest producer of newsprint. The newspapers share ownership of the company with the Argentine government.
A group of comedians gathered Sunday, Aug. 22, on the beach of Copacabana, in Rio de Janeiro, to demonstrate against a law that bans parodies and jokes about candidates during election campaigns in Brazil, reported O Globo.
Cuba first digital magazine debuted earlier this month, thanks to independent blogger Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, editor of "Voces", or Voices, reported the Miami Herald (in English), and El Nuevo Herald (in Spanish).
Even as controversy erupted in Venezuela over a ban on the publication of violent photos, in Colombia a senator from the ruling coalition has offered up a bill that would prohibit the publication of "mildly pornographic" or sensational images in print media and websites, reported El Espectador and the news agency Europa Press.
The government of Alan García backtracked and re-instituted the operating license for La Voz de Bagua (The Voice of Bagua), the small radio station closed more than a year ago after the violent unrest in this province of the Peruvian Amazon, reported La República and EFE.
The three top candidates heading into the country’s Oct. 3 election, Dilma Rousseff, José Serra, and Marina Silva, have signed onto the Chapultepec Declaration — an international charter, first signed in 1994 in México, that protects freedom of expression and information — at this week’s Brazilian Newspaper Association (ANJ) congress in Rio de Janeiro.
The president of Brazil's National Association of Newspapers (ANJ), Judith Brito, announced that the organization is creating a board for self-regulation, reported iG. The board could begin to function as soon as the end of this year. The announcement was made during the opening of the 8th Brazilian Congress of Newspapers, in Rio de Janeiro.
The Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression at the Organization of American States (OAS), Carolina Botero, outlined 13 aspects of the proposed Communication Law that need to be changed or clarified, Hoy reports. Last week, Human Rights Watch also said the bill was in need of several changes.
The release of various political prisoners does not mean Cuban authorities are tolerating any type of free expression on the island. Luis Felipe Rojas was arrested for publishing a "horror report" about abuses committed against dissidents in the eastern provinces of Cuba, reported Radio Martí and EcoDiario.
The Paraguayan Journalists Union condemned an attack against Martín Caballero, a radio announcer from Radio Sagrado Corazón de Jesús in the city of Villa Hayes. The group also came out against attempts to censor the radio station.
Mexican authorities are investigating grenade attacks at the offices of media giant Televisa in the cities of Matamoros and Monterrey. The first incident happened in Matamoros the night of Saturday, Aug. 14, and no one was injured. In the case of Monterrey, the attack occurred at dawn on Sunday, slightly injuring two employees and damaging a car and nearby buildings, reported Agencia Reforma and La Crónica de Hoy.
An impending ruling from the Salvadoran Supreme Court has created uncertainty and concern among journalists in the country, and sparked a debate on the limits of freedom of expression, reported El Salvador and El Faro.