Radio Faluma Bimetu/Coco Dulce, a station serving the Afro-Caribbean Garifuna community in the Honduran coastal city of Triunfo de la Cruz, returned to the air after a month of threats, tension, and hostility, reports Reporters without Borders (RSF).
Venezuelan activists and journalists have come together to demand increased pluralism in the state-run media, free access to public information, and for the government to return confiscated radio and TV stations to their original owners, El Nacional reports.
A new study on the state of press freedom in Mexico says the growing violence in Mexico is so brutal, it has made problems like censorship, lack of training, and regulation pale in comparison.
President Rafael Correa has proposed holding a popular vote on limiting bank investment in media companies in order to “avoid conflicts of interest,” AFP and EFE report. The referendum, which also includes judicial reforms, is now being analyzed by the Constitutional Court to confirm its legality.
A controversial bill that included up to four years of prison for those who “insult” the president or other elected officials was withdrawn by the president of Panama’s National Assembly, José Muñoz, EFE and Terra report.
The new communications minister, Paulo Bernardo, said he supported a rule that bars a company from owning a radio station, newspaper, and TV station in the same region, Folha de S. Paulo reports. He made the statements in an interview with TV Brasil (see the video below).
Journalist Carlos Torres, correspondent for Panamerican radio in the city of Sucre, in the south of Bolivia, received anonymous death threats via text message on his cell phone, reported the National Press Association (ANP).
Two of Panama's government-allied deputies have announced a draft law that would jail those who “offend, insult, or vilify” the president or other government officials, prompting criticism from members of the opposition, journalists, and the Panamanian ombudsman, Telemetro and AFP reports.
El Salvador's President Mauricio Funes sent back to the Legislative Assembly a bill that would create a public information access law, asking for various modifications and clarifications, reported El Faro.
Bolivia has approved the final rules governing the “Law to Fight against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination,” which was passed by Congress and signed by President Evo Morales in October, Bolpress reports. Many media organizations criticized the bill for articles in it that they say violate freedom of expression.
Recently inaugurated President Dilma Rouseff’s new communications minister, Paulo Bernardo, defended the need for a new regulatory framework for the sector, during his speech at the Jan. 3 handover ceremony, Terra reports.
Bolivia has finalized the rules governing its new "Law to Fight against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination", and the final bill will be enacted by decree on Jan. 8 by President Evo Morales, Los Tiempos reports.