New York, February 22, 2011–Iván Hernández Carrillo, a Cuban journalist imprisoned since March 2003, was released on parole Saturday and permitted to remain in the country, bringing to 19 the number of reporters and editors freed after an agreement between the President Raúl Castro and the Catholic Church. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on…
During the presentation of our annual survey, Attacks on the Press, in Sao Paulo, there was clear concern about the ability of the local media to report on issues of public interest without judicial interference. Journalists for three of the largest national dailies–O Estado de Sao Paulo, Folha de Sao Paulo, and O Globo–together with…
The news of the sexual assault against CPJ board member and CBS correspondent Lara Logan hit us hard on Tuesday. At CPJ, we work daily to advocate on behalf of journalists under attack in all kinds of horrific situations around the world. Because of Lara’s untiring work with our Journalist Assistance program, she’s well known…
In Latin America, A Return of Censorship By Carlos Lauría As the preeminent political family in the northeastern state of Maranhão for more than 40 years, the Sarneys are used to getting their way in Brazilian civic life. So when the leading national daily O Estado de S. Paulo published allegations in June 2009 that linked José…
Top Developments • Kirchner accuses two papers of colluding with the military dictatorship in 1976. • Legislation would restrict media ownership in newsprint companies. Key Statistic 400: Pages in government report that claims Clarín and La Nación media groups conspired with dictators. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s administration accused top executives of the country’s two…
Top Developments • Judicial censorship rampant; order bars paper from covering corruption allegations. • Convictions won in journalist’s murder as Brazil makes strides against impunity. Key Statistic 398: Demands to remove online content made by Brazilian authorities to Google in the first six months of 2010. Continuing a pattern of extensive censorship imposed from the…
Top Developments • Progress slow in probe of illegal espionage that targeted journalists. • One journalist murdered. Deadly violence slows, but danger remains. Key Statistic 4: Provincial reporters forced into exile due to threats. President Álvaro Uribe Vélez ended his two terms in office with a decidedly mixed press freedom record. CPJ research charted a…
Top Developments • Cuba relents on political detainees, frees 17 journalists. Four still held. • In exile, freed journalists face economic, professional difficulties. Key Statistic 45: Poems that journalist and former detainee Ricardo González Alfonso smuggled from prison. After years of intensive advocacy and international diplomacy, 17 independent journalists swept up in the government’s 2003…
Top Developments • Journalists attacked, broadcasters censored during police uprising. • Correa administration orders broadcasters to air official rebuttals. Key Statistic 6: Hours during which broadcasters were told to suspend programming, carry state news reports on police revolt. President Rafael Correa’s administration used censorship powers throughout the year to supplant independent news and commentary. Authorities…
Top Developments • Journalists persevere after quake, working from tents and homes. • Dozens of reporters jobless. Print media sustain heavy losses. Key Statistic 95: Percent of radio stations knocked off the air by the January earthquake. Most had returned by late year. Reflecting the devastation across all of Haitian society, the news media suffered…