Journalist Romano dos Anjos kidnapped and assaulted in Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, October 29, 2020 — Brazilian authorities must promptly and thoroughly investigate the kidnapping of journalist Romano dos Anjos, bring those responsible to justice, and ensure he can work safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 26, at about 8:30 p.m., three unidentified men broke into dos Anjos’ home in…
Colombia court’s ruling in Vicky Dávila, RCN defamation case sets dangerous precedent for investigative reporting
Bogotá, October 29, 2020 – The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a Colombian appellate court’s decision ordering journalist Vicky Dávila Hoyos and media outlet RCN to pay damages for reports broadcast in 2014 on alleged police corruption. On October 15, a Bogotá appellate court ordered Dávila, one of Colombia’s best-known journalists, and the private…
US plans to restrict foreign journalist visas would be chilling, must be scrapped
We hadn’t even finished unpacking our belongings from my assignment in Africa when the phone rang. It was a fellow journalist warning me that the director of Israel’s Government Press Office had just gone on national radio to say he intended to summon me to complain about a story. My wife looked at me anxiously….
Getting Away with Murder
CPJ’s 2020 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and their killers go free By Elana Beiser/CPJ Editorial Director Published October 28, 2020 Incremental progress toward reducing the murders of journalists worldwide is fragile and could be thwarted by legal appeals and lack of political leadership, CPJ found in its latest report on…
Despite convictions, justice for murdered journalists in Mexico remains abstract
Some recent convictions in the cases of journalists murdered in Mexico may give the impression that the state is making significant progress in the fight against impunity. While CPJ has welcomed the convictions as an important step, the outlook for breaking the cycle of impunity and violence in Mexico has grown more dim under President…
CPJ, RCFP and other organizations urge DHS to drop proposed visa changes for foreign journalists in U.S.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) and 36 other media organizations yesterday submitted joint comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) urging the department to drop or revise proposed changes to I visas, which are granted to members of the foreign media working in the United States….
Head of USAGM removes firewall regulation aimed to protect editorial independence
Washington, D.C., October 27, 2020—The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a move by the head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media to eliminate a regulation designed to protect editorial independence for the agency’s networks, including Voice of America. USAGM CEO Michael Pack said in a statement late yesterday that the regulation would be…
Colombia to file criminal charges against journalist Diana Díaz for revealing censorship at public media network
The Colombian Attorney General’s office announced on October 19, 2020, that it will file criminal charges against Diana Díaz, a former public TV station manager, for leaking to the Bogotá-based Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) a recording of a conversation in which her supervisor suggested canceling a program because its host had criticized a proposed…
Conspiracy theories grow in the U.S., creating threats to journalist safety
On the eve of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, conspiracy theories have abounded online amid the global pandemic and a polarized political climate. Journalists covering nearly every beat grapple with misinformation, which is false but may be spread by mistake, as well as disinformation, when falsehoods are shared intentionally. QAnon has emerged as one…
Venezuelan intelligence services raid Correo del Caroní newspaper, detain employees
Miami, October 22, 2020 — Venezuelan authorities must stop harassing and threatening the Correo del Caroní newspaper, its owner, and its employees, and allow them to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 20, at about 9 a.m., agents from the Bolivarian Intelligence Service raided the headquarters of Correo del Caroní,…