Americas

2019

  
A volunteer works to put out a forest fire in Quitunuquina, on the outskirts of Robore, Bolivia, on August 24, 2019. Bolivia’s forest fires have exposed the numerous risks faced by environmental reporters. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Bolivia’s forest fires expose risks for environmental reporters

When Pablo Ortiz, a veteran reporter for El Deber, the main daily in the eastern city of Santa Cruz, set off to cover massive forest fires, he didn’t realize how dangerous the assignment would be.

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Cameras and a photo of Miroslava Breach are laid out as part of a tribute to the journalist on the second anniversary of her murder. Mexico's investigation into her killing is flawed, a report on the journalist has found. (AFP/Herika Martinez)

‘Project Miroslava’ finds flaws in Mexico’s investigation of journalist murder

An in-depth investigation into the March 23, 2017 killing of Mexican journalist Miroslava Breach Velducea found grave omissions, flaws and irregularities in authorities’ investigation of the murder.

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People use the internet at a hotspot in Havana, Cuba in December 2018. Journalists and bloggers say recent internet regulations could legitimize censorship. (REUTERS/Stringer)

In new Cuban internet measures, journalists see a trap

International media announced the dawn of legal private Wi-Fi in Cuba this July. But a decree published the same month signals that content controls are expanding alongside access, local journalists and bloggers told CPJ.

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A photographer sets a remote camera before Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's appearance at a joint hearing on Capitol Hill in April 2018. Online harassment is perceived as the biggest threat for journalists in the U.S. and Canada, CPJ's safety survey found. (AFP/Brendan Smialowski)

Why newsrooms need a solution to end online harassment of reporters

Stef Schrader was on vacation in Germany last year when spam messages started to flood her inbox. Seeing random emails from Macy’s—and job alerts for the position of “Chief Idiot”—she realized someone had signed her work email up to dozens of email lists.

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A protester uses her phone to film during protests in Charlotte, North Carolina, in September 2016. CPJ's safety survey found 85 percent of respondents believe journalism is becoming a less safe job. (Reuters/Mike Blake)

Why going solo is a risk for female reporters in the US and Canada

In June 2016, an attacker was terrorizing women on a jogging path in Edmonton, Canada. A video journalist at a large Canadian broadcaster was assigned to cover the story on the night shift. Multiple sexual assaults had been reported and the man was still at-large.

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Reporters work during a panel for a television series in Beverly Hills, California, in August 2016. Female and gender non-conforming journalists in the U.S. and Canada say there is a need for greater training on dealing with harassment and threats. (Reuters/Mario Anzuoni)

‘The threats follow us home’: Survey details risks for female journalists in U.S., Canada

Ask any female journalist about harassment or safety while on assignment and they’ll likely have a story to tell.

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The New York Times logo is seen on a newspaper rack at a convenience store in Washington, D.C., on August 6, 2019. CPJ and RCFP filed a lawsuit on August 8 seeking documents in a leak investigation involving a Times reporter. (AFP/Alastair Pike)

CPJ, RCFP file lawsuit seeking documents in leak investigation

Yesterday, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) filed a lawsuit against the United States government seeking to obtain documents concerning steps taken by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to investigate leakers and to identify journalists’ sources.

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A protester displays a Nicaraguan flag in Managua on March 16, 2019. Journalists covering anti-government protests across the country were attacked, harassed, and in some cases, detained. (AFP/Maynor Valenzuela)

Nicaragua: A crackdown in four parts

When protests erupted in Nicaragua in April last year, it was clear from the beginning that the country’s media landscape would be a battleground. One day into the unrest, the government ordered cable providers to cut the signals of at least five TV channels. By the end of the year, CPJ had documented attacks, arrests,…

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Demonstrators demanding the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló arrive on motorcycles in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 18, 2019. Thousands of people are calling on Rosselló to resign after the leak of online chats that show him making misogynistic slurs and mocking his constituents. (AP/Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo)

Puerto Rican journalists navigate street protests, police reaction

In a Q&A with CPJ, broadcast reporter Jesús Rivera Martinez talks about the climate for journalists amid protests calling for the resignation of Puerto Rico’s governor, Ricardo Rosselló.

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The exterior of Samaniego Stereo radio station in Samaniego, in Colombia's Nariño department. One of the station's journalists, Libardo Montenegro, was shot dead on June 11. (CPJ/John Otis)

Killing of radio journalist highlights dangers for local reporters in Colombia’s border region

The otherwise Spartan studio of Samaniego Stereo is adorned by a white banner emblazoned with the image of Libardo Montenegro, a veteran reporter for the community radio station in southern Colombia who was shot dead on June 11. Under his photo are the words: “You will live in our hearts forever.”

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2019