JOURNALISM IN THE AMERICAS Blog
Bolivian military agrees to open dictatorship-era files
Defense Minister Rubén Saavedra says the military is ready to comply with a Supreme Court order to declassify documents from the military dictatorship led by General Luis García Meza (1980-1981), AFP reports. Read more »
Cuba’s official daily publishes critical views on the economy
At a time when independent journalists continue to fear state police harassment for publishing criticisms of the government, and others remain in prison for their work, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, Granma, appears to be increasingly willing to air critical ideas. Read more »
Venezuelans release book about investigative journalism, announce national contest
The Venezuelan chapter of the Press and Society Institute (IPYS) has released its most recent publication, Methods of Impertinence, a collection of best practices and lessons for investigative journalism in Latin America. The book combines testimonies from 10 prominent journalists from the region that were presented between 2005 and 2009 at events in Mexico, and the Venezuelan cities of Caracas, Maracaibo, and Puerto La Cruz. Read more »
Covering Colombia’s elections with new media but old concerns over press freedom
Colombians appear to have been more comfortable with continuity than with change by giving President Álvaro Uribe’s former defense minister, Juan Manuel Santos, a win with approximately 47 percent of the vote, and putting him into a second-round runoff June 20 with Antanas Mockus, the BBC reports. Read more »
Bad redesigns: news sites regress while trying to simplify
“What’s going on with these redesigns?” asks Ryan Chittum of Columbia Journalism Review. Several news sites are using more graphics and “jumbo headlines,” and they require readers to scroll down deeper into the page for more news, he laments. Chittum misses getting more news up high, in only a few blinks. Thinking of print newspapers and their placement of news as either above or below the fold of Page 1, he describes a few recent redesigns this way: Read more »
Colombia's president denies manipulating media to smear the Supreme Court
Wiretaps conducted by Colombian intelligence agents on judges, journalists, politicians, and human rights defenders have put more pressure on President Álvaro Uribe to be accountable. Uribe was summoned this week to testify about any possible role or knowledge he had of the wiretaps. He publicly denied claims made by the prosecutor handling the case who suggested that the president's office had leaked the press information in order to discredit the Supreme Court, CM& and El Colombiano report. Read more »
Why is newspaper circulation growing in Brazil as it falls in the U.S.?
Circulation in Brazil is increasing once again after a decline last year during the economic crisis, O Estado de S. Paulo reports. On average, 97 papers reported a 1.5 percent increase in the first quarter of 2010, compared with an 8.6 percent drop in U.S. circulation over the six-month period ending March 31. What accounts for this difference? Read more »
Guatemalan journalist killed near erupting volcano
Guatedigital brought the news that Aníbal Archila, a reporter for Noti7 TV, was declared missing Thursday night (May 27) after being hit and injured by volcanic debris while covering the eruption south of Guatemala City, EFE says. Read more »
Three Latin American journalists among 2011 Nieman Fellows
The Nieman Foundation at Harvard University has selected 25 journalists from around the world to participate in its annual fellowship program. Read more »
Knight Center offers Venezuelan journalists online course for covering elections
Venezuelan journalists can apply until June 6, 2010, for the Knight Center's free online course "Electoral Coverage and Democracy," timed to prepare reporters and editors to cover the parliamentary election in September. Read more »
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