Americas

  
The Baba Amr district of Homs in March 2011. (AFP/Shaam News Network)

Preparation helps freelancers survive, thrive

When the story is so important but the risks are so high, journalists must keep safety at the forefront of their thinking. That’s especially true for freelancers who often do not have the support of a large news organization. Preparation, peer networking, and smart planning can help improve the odds of not only surviving hostile…

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President Barack Obama receives the oath of office on Monday. His legacy on transparency is still open to debate. (AP/Carolyn Kaster)

New term to settle Obama legacy on leaks, whistleblowers

As pundits debate how Barack Obama will tackle guns, climate change, immigration, and the debt ceiling in his newly inaugurated second term, press freedom advocates are left questioning how the U.S. president will handle another, no-less-controversial issue: the treatment of whistleblowers and officials who leak information to the media.

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CPJ

Talking international law and conflict journalists

What is the humanitarian function of journalism in wartime? How does international humanitarian law protect journalists? Why is impunity the most important challenge facing journalists working in conflict zones?

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(Courtesy Portalozk/Shirley Martins)

Brazilian police investigating murder of radio host

Two unidentified men shot Renato Machado Gonçalves as he was returning home with his family at night on January 8, 2013, in the city of São João da Barra, in northern Rio de Janeiro state, according to news reports. Machado’s six-year-old niece was also injured in the attack, the reports said. Machado died later at…

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Audio slideshow: A look at missing journalist James Foley

James Foley, a U.S. freelance journalist, was abducted in Syria in November. His colleague and friend Nicole Tung, a freelance photographer, spoke to CPJ about her experience working and traveling with Foley. A petition appealing for Foley’s release can be signed here.

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Globovisión probed over Chávez inauguration reports

Bogotá, January 10, 2013–Venezuelan authorities announced late Wednesday that they had launched an investigation against a private TV station that had aired reports questioning the legality of postponing the inauguration of President Hugo Chávez. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the government to immediately drop this politicized investigation and to end its persistent harassment…

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Yahoo HTTPS mail not a moment too soon, nor too late

I remember sitting with a Yahoo employee in 2009, talking about the lack of protective encryption on Yahoo’s Web mail accounts. Like many, the employee had been caught up in the news of how Iranians were using the Internet to document and protest the presidential elections in that country, and had grown worried about the…

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U.S. daily harassed after publishing map of gun owners

New York, January 7, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns continued harassment and threats against staff of The Journal News after the New York state-based daily published an interactive map that identified local gun permit holders. CPJ calls on authorities to investigate the matter thoroughly and take all appropriate law enforcement action.

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Mauri König accepts his International Press Freedom Award from CPJ board member and Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief Matthew Winkler in November. (Michael Nagle/Getty Images for CPJ)

Brazilian journalist König in hiding after threats

New York, December 18, 2012–Brazilian authorities must immediately provide protection to journalist Mauri König, who went into hiding on Monday after receiving death threats related to his reports on police corruption, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Journalist deaths spike in 2012 due to Syria, Somalia

Syrian violence contributed to a sharp rise in the number of journalists killed for their work in 2012, as did a series of murders in Somalia. The dead include a record proportion of journalists who worked online. A CPJ special report

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