Americas

As Bolivia undergoes massive political changes, its media is also going through tumultuous times. Bolivia's unstable political situation, widespread civil unrest, and weak rule of law present serious long-term threats to journalists amid the broader perspective of human rights. Observers see Bolivia’s current situation as a make or break situation for the Bolivian media, who seem to be the...

The detention of Al-Jazeera assistant cameraman Sami Al-Haj, who tomorrow begins his sixth year without charge or trial in the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is “unconstitutional and contrary to international law,” Reporters Without Borders said today, describing the detention centre as “one the biggest legal and humanitarian scandals of recent years” and reiterating its call for its...

Sami al-Haj spends his days alone, thinking of his wife and the son he barely knows. He spends his time thinking of the world beyond the razor wire, of the world away from the walls and bars, the orange jumpsuit he is forced to wear and the military guards that oversee him. He thinks too of his fellow prisoners incarcerated along with him at Guantanamo Bay and the anguish they endure. And when he...

The Venezuelan government’s decision not to renew a television broadcasting license is being seen as a serious setback for freedom of expression in Venezuela. Radio Caracas Television (RCTV), the country’s oldest private channel, will have to close shop when its licence expires on May 27, 2007. President Hugo Chávez has repeatedly threatened to cancel RCTV’s licence ever since he accused it of...

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has voiced concern about gruesome threatening messages aimed at journalists and the fact that one of the latest messages, which are being blamed on drug traffickers, was followed four days later by an apparent attempt to kill a leading investigative journalist by sabotaging her car. On 3 May 2007, World Press Freedom Day, the head of a corpse was left on a street in...

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Kraft, Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola are among the marketers that are prepared to stop spending in magazines if they don't get issue-by-issue circulation guarantees. Robin Steinberg, senior VP-director of print investment and activation at MediaVest, insists that magazines should make issue-by-issue circulation guarantees to marketers. Robin Steinberg, senior VP-director of print...

My name is Anne and I’m a blogger. Bloggers come in many shapes and sizes. Some are professional journalists. Others are amateur fanboys. A few create original content, but most riff on other people’s blogs. (At thompsononhollywood.com, I do both.) Some are erudite and write with charm and brio. Others suck. But for better or worse, blogs are here to stay. And they’re reshaping the coverage of...

A journalist with Ontario-based Pakistan Post newspaper was assaulted by two men who had warned him to stop writing against Islam. Jawaad Faizi was attacked in Mississauga, Ontario on the evening of April 17, according to the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE). Faizi described being attacked by two men in his car outside the home of his editor, Amir Arain. Two men, one armed with a...

Mexico has become only the second country in Latin America to repeal defamation as a criminal offence. Mexican President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa signed the legislation that effectively eliminates criminal defamation, libel, and slander at the federal level last week. Mexico's president Felipe Calderon speaks during the opening of the Plan Puebla Panama summit in Mexico, April 10, 2007. “I welcome...

When Time Inc. killed off Teen People last July but decided to continue publishing it online, the move made sense to some observers, given teen media usage habits. Nearly a year later, though, the site’s audience size has dwindled to 218,000 uniques, according to comScore Media Metrics, and by the end of this month, TeenPeople.com will be absorbed by People.com. Other magazines, however, continue...