Attacks on the Press in 2008: Argentina
Adding to a mounting body of international legal opinion, two landmark rulings held that public officials may not be shielded from public scrutiny. In May, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights voided a criminal defamation sentence against a local journalist and urged Argentina to reform its defamation laws in line with regional standards. Two months…
Radio show cancellation sparks controversy in Argentina
The recent cancellation of a radio show hosted by prominent Argentine broadcast journalist Nelson Castro, a harsh critic of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s administration, sparked immediate controversy. Electroingeniería, the company that owns the Buenos Aires-based Radio Del Plata, announced on Friday that the news show “Puntos de Vista” (Points of View), which has been…
Report: Official ads boosted Kirchner’s campaign
According to a report released today by the nonprofit Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (Association for Civil Rights), or ADC, the Argentine government drastically increased its advertising budget in 2007, using public funds to reward friendly media, punish critical outlets, and promote the political campaign of current President Cristina Fernández who replaced her husband Néstor…
Court asserts right to criticize public officials
New York, July 1, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists applauds the Argentine Supreme Court’s unanimous decision asserting that public officials should be held to a high level of scrutiny and overturning a civil judgment against a national daily that criticized a government agency. In a ruling that sets some of the clearest and broadest press…
Inter-American court urges Argentina to reform defamation laws
New York, May 22, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists hails a new ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that urges Argentina to void a criminal defamation sentence against a local journalist and reform its defamations laws. The decision by the international court, based in San José, Costa Rica’s capital, was made public on…
Television journalist shot to death in northern Jujuy province
ARGENTINA: New York, March 19, 2008—Argentine television journalist Juan Carlos Zambrano was shot to death this morning in the northern province of Jujuy. The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating possible links between Zambrano’s death and his work. Two unidentified men approached Zambrano, host of the daily news and the weekly opinion program “Con la…
