Americas

2018

  
Honduran migrants take part in a caravan toward the U.S. in Chiquimula, Guatemala, on October 17. CPJ has issued safety advice for journalists covering the caravan as it passes through Mexico. (AFP/Orlando Estrada)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering the migrant caravan

UPDATED: This safety advisory was updated on February 15, 2019. In October 2018, thousands of migrants travelled as part of a caravan that departed San Pedro Sula in Honduras for the U.S. As the caravan attempted to cross Mexico, the risk increased for any journalists accompanying it.

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A man at a news kiosk in Brasilia on October 8 reads about the first round of Brazil's elections. CPJ and other rights groups are calling on candidates to denounce threats being made toward the press. (AFP/Evaristo SA)

CPJ joins call for Brazilian presidential candidates to condemn threats against journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined five other rights organizations to call on Brazilian presidential candidates to denounce the threats and violence against journalists covering the electoral campaign, and urge their supports to stop harassing reporters.

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Senate Foreign Relations Committee must keep up pressure over Khashoggi

CPJ writes to the leaders of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, requesting that they ensure the Trump administration conducts a quick and thorough investigation into Jamal Khashoggi’s killing, as required by the Magnitsky Act, and that they consider holding independent hearings on Saudi Arabia.

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CNN correspondent Kate Bolduan reports from outside the Time Warner Building in New York City on October 24, as police remove an explosive device from the CNN offices. (AP/Kevin Hagen)

CNN mail bomb is latest case of attacks and threats against US news rooms

New York, October 24, 2018–CNN’s New York City studios were evacuated today after an explosive device was delivered to the broadcaster’s offices, according to CNN. The device was addressed to John Brennan, a former CIA director and frequent guest on CNN news programs, who is also a national security analyst for MSNBC, CNN reported. The…

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The path(s) to justice in Jamal Khashoggi’s murder

In an emotional address to Turkey’s parliament today, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi as a savage and premeditated act and demanded that Saudi officials be brought to Turkey to stand trial. Most of the information about the investigation that has emerged has come through leaks to the Turkish…

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Unarmed man shot trying to storm local TV station in Washington, DC

In the afternoon of October 22, 2018, a man tried to force his away into the offices of Fox 5, a local television station in Washington D.C. The station released security camera footage showing the man bashing in two sets of glass doors with his foot, eventually gaining entrance to the lobby. There, two Fox…

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Warrantless searches of journalists at U.S. borders pose press freedom threat

New York, October 22, 2018–The Custom and Border Protection (CBP) agency’s powers to carry out warrantless searches of electronic devices has serious press freedom implications, including weakening the ability of the media to protect source privacy, the Committee to Protect Journalists found in its report, “Nothing to declare: Why U.S. border agency’s vast stop and…

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Customs and Border Protection agents pictured at Los Angeles International Airport in January 2017. The agency’s power to search electronic devices without warrant has serious implications for press freedom. (Reuters/Patrick T. Fallon)

Nothing to declare: Why U.S. border agency’s vast stop and search powers undermine press freedom

Secondary screenings of journalists crossing U.S. borders risk undermining press freedom as Custom and Border Protection agents search devices such as laptops or phones without warrant and question journalists about their reporting and contacts. As the government ramps up searches of electronic devices, rights groups mount legal challenges to fight invasive searches. A special report…

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Customs and Border Protection agents pictured at Los Angeles International Airport in January 2017. The agency’s power to search electronic devices without warrant has serious implications for press freedom. (Reuters/Patrick T. Fallon)

Nothing to declare:

About This ReportThis report was written by CPJ North America Program Coordinator Alexandra Ellerbeck and CPJ North America Research Assistant Stephanie Sugars, with additional research and reporting by North America Research Associate Avi Asher-Schapiro. CPJ Advocacy Director Courtney C. Radsch wrote the accompanying piece, “CPJ’s slog to improve DHS and CBP policy toward journalists.” Reporters…

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Customs and Border Protection agents pictured at Los Angeles International Airport in January 2017. The agency’s power to search electronic devices without warrant has serious implications for press freedom. (Reuters/Patrick T. Fallon)

Nothing to declare:

CPJ’s slog to improve DHS and CBP policy toward journalists One of the key principles of journalism is protecting the confidentiality of sources. So when CPJ started hearing from journalists who said they were being stopped and questioned about their journalism when they entered the United States, and that their electronic devices were sometimes searched…

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2018