VENEZUELA: New York, February 12, 2008—A group of Venezuelan legislators urged the Attorney General’s Office yesterday to investigate private television station Globovisión, alleging the broadcaster is damaging the image of President Hugo Chávez Frías. Led by Deputy Juan Carlos Dugarte, from the official Movimiento Quinta República party, a group of lawmakers and government supporters gave…
New York, February 6, 2008—A Mexican crime reporter was forced to flee the northern state of Chihuahua after receiving a death threat from an alleged criminal organization. The threat has prompted the daily Norte de Ciudad Juárez to curb its coverage on crime, Editor Alfredo Quijano told CPJ. On January 25, reporter Carlos Huerta Muñoz,…
By Christiane AmanpourMurder is a terrifying reality for independent journalists around the world. A group or government embarrassed by a critical report hires a gunman rather than a lawyer to silence the messenger. More than 60 journalists were killed for their work in 2007, the second-deadliest year for the press that CPJ has ever documented.
By Joel SimonIn August 2008, when the Olympic torch is lit in Beijing, more than 20,000 journalists will be on hand to cover the competition between the world’s greatest athletes. Behind the scenes, another competition will be taking place. If the Chinese government has its way, this one will remain hidden. It will be a…
Preaching Without A ChoirBy Carlos LauríaAt June’s annual assembly of the organization of American states (OAS) in Panama, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged foreign ministers to send the group’s secretary-general, José Miguel Insulza, to investigate Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Frías’ decision to pull the plug on the country’s oldest private television station, RCTV.
Outgoing President Néstor Kirchner’s administration dramatically increased its advertising budget, rewarding friendly media with government spots, punishing critics by withholding ads, and, in the process, influencing coverage of the presidential election won by Kirchner’s wife, Sen. Cristina Fernández. The manipulation of state advertising undermined press freedom and constituted the single greatest danger to the Argentine…
BRAZIL With 15 journalists killed for their work in as many years, Brazil is one of the region’s deadliest countries for the press, but court-imposed censorship and official antagonism have also emerged as major issues for the news media. Time and again, local courts issued rulings that barred journalists from reporting on malfeasance, while high-ranking…
Increasing hostility between the government of President Evo Morales and the private media reflected a year of overall tension between Bolivia’s indigenous majority and the country’s conservative, European-descended opposition. Amid heated debate in December, a constituent assembly approved a proposal for a new constitution that grants more power to the country’s indigenous population. Journalists expressed…
COLOMBIA The national press played a crucial role in exposing illegal paramilitary activities and links between paramilitary leaders and leading politicians. Provincial journalists, working in areas where paramilitaries and other illegal armed groups were prevalent, faced many challenges in trying to report this and other sensitive stories. Paramilitary fighters were behind the majority of documented…