A public defender and several press groups asked for private broadcaster Red Uno to be punished after airing hidden camera footage of a 13-year-old woman being raped by four men in the city of Santa Cruz, The Associated Press reports.

The situation remained unclear, however, after read more »

In an essay for Columbia Journalism Review, writer Jordan Michael Smith says the capture of U.S. diplomats by Iranian students 30 years ago this week had “pernicious” effects on the U.S. public’s attitude on Iran. read more »

El Tiempo, the country's largest daily, publicly and without warning fired prominent political scientist Claudia López, a critic of President Álvaro Uribe and one of the paper's most read columnists, BBC Mundo reports. read more »

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told the AFP that he would not replicate Hugo Chávez’s controversial actions against the media but also criticized the Venezuelan press. (See this article in English.)

“I wouldn't do what Chávez did with the media […]. I also think the media shouldn't have done what they did with Chávez for so long,” the president said. read more »

In an op-ed for the Washington Post, former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather asks U.S. President Barack Obama to form a commission to study the “perilous state of America's news media.” read more »

Within the last week, the Ministry of Public Works has begun shutting down more than 200 radio stations, the top prosecutor has said that "freedom of expression must be limited," a new bill has been presented to the National Assembly that would punish “media crimes,” and read more »

Slate’s media critic Jack Shafer says he never interviewed the pop star singer, making him “one of the world’s few journalists who couldn’t capitalize on the singer’s death last week by writing a rush piece about my encounter with him.” He points to the many writers who have based pieces on fleeting moments such as asking Jackson one question (Q: “When are you going to Africa?” A: "Hopefully soon"), or being promised an interview with the entertainer but not getting it… in 1987. read more »

The news media were the primary target of former president Néstor Kirchner, who in a 45-minute speech criticized the press 11 times for its coverage of the agricultural protests in Argentina, Clarín reported. The husband of current president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner accused the media of seeking "political destabilization" and of opposing the draft law on broadcasting that the government is pursuing. read more »