Considering the way WikiLeaks and its publishing of secret diplomatic cables and classified documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have prompted debates about the public's right to know and transparency in government, the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas has decided to highlight information access laws throughout Latin America.
Between 1995 and August 2010, 258 journalists were killed — or kidnapped and assumed killed — in Latin America, but only 59 of those cases have been successfully prosecuted. These numbers from the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) back up a new analysis from journalist Tyler Bridges who in his report referred to the “worst wave of violence against journalists ever in Latin America." This is the setting which prompted IAPA to develop the Impunity Project.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's probing questions into the state of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez's mental health, reports of Cuban spies and Colombian FARC guerrillas in Venezuela, and statements that Bolivian President Evo Morales had been invited to Brazil to have a sinus tumor removed are just some of the disclosures made in the leaked diplomatic cables whistle-blower site WikiLeaks released in what has become known as "cablegate."
During its 66th general assembly meeting Nov. 5-9, 2010, in Merida, Mexico, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) voted in its new board of directors for 2010-2013.
At the end of its 66th Assembly, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) decided to send 22 resolutions, the majority dealing with press freedom, to government officials and inter-American organizations.
The 66th Inter American Press Association (IAPA) Assembly took place in Mérida, Mexico, where the group warned that press freedom in the continent was threatened by violence and political repression, The Canadian Press reports.
Reporters Without Borders released its annual press freedom index on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010, according to Radio Free Europe.
The Associated Press (AP) news service has appointed a new Latin America and Caribbean editor.
Day two of the 8th Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas on Saturday, Sept. 18, at the University of Texas at Austin kicked off with journalists from South and Central America and Eastern Europe discussing how reporters and journalism organizations can cooperate across borders to better cover organized crime.
Journalists and representatives from journalism organizations from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean are coming together for two days of discussion on coverage of drug trafficking and organized crime at the 8th Austin Forum on Journalism in the Americas, Sept. 17-18, 2010, in Austin, Texas.
Watchdog reporting in traditional news outlets is on the decline, and new nonprofit investigative journalism ventures are doing their best to fill the void, according to a new article in the American Journalism Review (AJR).
Alejandro Aguirre, president of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) said that in Latin America, democratically elected governments are falling to authoritarianism and increasingly restricting press freedom, reported Voice of America.