Americas
2016
In Oaxaca, reporters covering teachers’ union protests face violence, threats
The atmosphere in Nochixtlán, a small, rural community in Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca, was tense on June 20. The day before, members of a dissident teachers’ union had clashed with federal and state police while protesting education reform. Shots were fired and, by the end of the day, nine people had died and dozens…
Be prepared: steps to staying safe while covering US political party conventions
The U.S. political party conventions in Cleveland and Philadelphia this summer carry the risk of civil unrest. While protests have long occurred both inside and outside of convention venues, security experts and political commentators have said this year’s gatherings have the potential for unrest not seen since in the U.S. since the Vietnam war-era clashes…
In Mexico, covering state elections brings risk of threats and violence
As the June 5 elections approached, the anonymous phone calls to Mexican journalist Pedro Canché became more frequent and more ominous. “The Caribbean is a big sea, you’ll never be found,” one said. “I hope you’ve written a will,” said another. A third caller told Canché, “Remember what happened to Rubén Espinosa,” referring to the…
Global Magnitsky Act could be powerful weapon against impunity in journalist murders
Last week, the proposed Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act emerged from the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee with approval. The bill was passed by the Senate last year. If passed by the full House of Representatives and signed into law by the president, it has the potential to offer partial redress to one of…
Why Trump’s insults of journalists must be taken seriously
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called the mainstream media “crooked” “unfair” “troublemakers” and The New York Times a failing, “SAD!” newspaper “full of boring lies.” Individual reporters are “liars” and “bimbos,” according to his tweets.
Cybercrime proposals risk undermining Brazil’s progress in securing free and open Internet
Two years ago, Brazil passed Marco Civil da Internet, a landmark piece of Internet civil rights legislation that made the country an international reference in digital rights. But its legacy is under threat from a cybercrime proposal that could radically change key aspects of the framework and threaten free speech online.
CPJ joins call for World Bank to adopt human rights policy
The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined Social Justice Connection and other press freedom and human rights groups in calling on the World Bank to adopt a human rights policy at its annual spring meeting in Washington D.C. In a letter to the president of World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, the groups urged the bank…
As US-Cuba relations thaw, what’s next for the island’s independent press?
“Our hope is that President Obama will meet journalists working for the alternative media, not just to cover his visit, but to start a dialogue,” said Elaine Díaz Rodríguez, director of Periodismo de Barrio (Neighborhood Journalism) a website focusing on climate change and the impact of natural disasters on local communities. Díaz, who last year…