On Monday, Aug. 27, Brazilian civil society organizations launched the campaign "Freedom of Expression--A New Law for a New Time," reported the National Forum for the Democratization of Communication. The campaign marks the 50th anniversary of the Brazilian Telecommunications Law and calls for a new "general communication law" that defends plurality, diversity, and equal access to media and telecommunications in the South American country.
Argentine President Cristina Kirchner proposed an ethics law for journalists during a speech at the energy company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF in Spanish), claiming that the media were "mounting a campaign to tarnish the image" of the recently nationalized business. Kirchner cited recent articles published in the newspaper Clarín for her argument, reported HidrocarburosBolivia.com.
Degree requirements to practice journalism in Brazil could be about to make a comeback. On Tuesday, Aug. 7, the Senate approved a bill to amend the Constitution that would reestablish degree requirements for journalists after the Federal Supreme Court declared them unconstitutional in 2009, reported the website Terra.
Since the Brazilian Law of Information Access went into effect on May 16, the Brazilian federal government has received 17,516 requests to access documents and other information.
On Thursday, July 19, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador suspended its session scheduled to analyze the legality of the controversial Democracy Code, a regulation pushed by President Rafael Correa that regulates press coverage during electoral campaigns.
The government of Ecuador has received various criticisms in the last few days due to what Reporters Without Borders has called an excess of presidential attacks on opposition journalists for closing several media outlets.
Costa Rican journalists could go to prison for revealing "secret political information" according to a controversial new law, reported the newspaper La Nación de Costa Rica.
The passage of recent legislation in Mexico that allows crimes against journalists to be investigated at the federal, instead of local, level is just a first step toward improving the dire situation currently facing the Mexican press.
The majority of crimes against journalists in Brazil are committed by politicians and the police, said the National Federation of Journalists of Brazil (Fenaj in Portuguese) in a public hearing of the Commission on Public Safety and the Fight against Organized Crime.
Brazil's National Council of the Attorney General's office approved on June 26 a proposal with recommendations for investigations of crimes against journalists to be thorough, fast, and high-priority, reported the newspaper Estado de S. Paulo.
The prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago has agreed to review the Caribbean nation's criminal defamation laws, according to the International Press Institute (IPI).
Mexican President Felipe Calderón signed a new law to protect journalists on Friday, June 22, reported the Organización Editorial Mexicana.