2009

What is happening in Nicaragua when it comes to press freedom? A CPJ report found that President Daniel Ortega is waging a war against the media. It consists of smear campaigns, legal and economic pressures, verbal and physical attacks, and a rigorous information embargo against the critical and independent media.

Minutes after I woke up to get ready for the presentation of a CPJ report on press freedom conditions in Nicaragua, I turned on the TV. Nicaragua was shaken by the sudden death of Managua’s mayor, Alexis Arguello, who was found at home with a gunshot wound to his chest. Arguello, who had won three…

On May 27, 2009, an unidentified individual threatened José Bladimir Antuna García, a reporter who covers the police beat for the Durango-based daily El Tiempo. The reporter, who has previously been threatened, told CPJ he believes the death threat is linked to his reporting on organized crime and drug trafficking.

Nicaragua’s president ignores the news media, except to harass his critics. By Carlos Lauría and Joel Simon

 In this video report, “Daniel Ortega’s Media War,” CPJ’s Carlos Lauría and Joel Simon examine the Nicaraguan government’s aggressive tactics toward independent media, including legal harassment and smear campaigns. (4:48) Read the special report, “Daniel Ortega’s Media War.”

New York, June 30, 2009–Honduran military personnel briefly detained seven journalists, temporarily shut down several local broadcasters, and intermittently blocked the broadcast signals of international news channels in the aftermath of the weekend coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on those in power in Honduras to allow the…

U.S. troops arrested radio journalist Noorajan Baheer on June 2, 2009, and detained him for two nights, according to Pajhwok Afghan News agency and Agence France-Presse. 

We issued the following statement today in response to international press reports that military personnel briefly detained seven journalists on Monday, closed down at least one television station and one radio station in Tegucigalpa, and is interfering with international broadcast of protests in support of ousted President Manuel Zelaya…

We issued the following statement today in response to press reports that several broadcast media outlets have been closed in Honduras following the ousting of President Manuel Zelaya on Sunday…

Last night, about 300 people gathered at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University for a vigil for U.S. television journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling. Today marks the 100th day of captivity in North Korea for the women, who were arrested in March by North Korean guards while filming a story about refugees for the…