The UNESCO publication “World Trends of Expression and Media Development” (WTEMD) states that Latin America has very high levels of commercial media concentration. Although efforts are underway to establish anti-monopoly regulations, the process is slow or has failed to generate results. In countries such as Peru, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and Uruguay, there are intense debates about the need for government intervention in order to avoid monopolization of ownership and control of the media by a small number of groups due to the impact that they have on the quality of democratic debate. ...
UNESCO field offices: Montevideo
The relationship between the press and the judiciary in Argentina, as in other countries, is one that has historically been marked by tension. In the majority of cases, this tension leads neither to the bolstering of freedom of the press nor to the strengthening of the judicial system. Given these two entities' centrality in the democratic landscape of Argentina, the ongoing conflicts between them adversely affects not just the institutions, but also the exercise of democracy itself.
This tension stems equally from structural factors as from factors rooted in the poor...
The Vuelan las Plumas platform seeks to become an example of quality cultural journalism whose content production can be taken advantage of by many other media and forms of communication.
The creation of content requires a professional team with the capacities to develop quality programs and interviews. Vuelan las Plumas consists in generating and broadcasting live via radio and TV, and then uploading the content produced to the website to be downloaded by other communications media professionals and the wider public. To achieve this, capacity building is essential. ...
On August 2014, the Paraguayan law on access to public information was passed. Our institution – IDEA- has been leading efforts towards this goal for 8 years: a process that at times could not to see a light at the end of the tunnel, and required a significant investment in terms of time and funds.
During that process, communicators have been mostly allies; although a small number of the sector opposed. Led by IDEA, the GIAI (a Group of NGOs an individuals who got together to coordinate actions in support of Access to Information) included the press at all times, as main...
In 2006, the Forum for Argentine Journalism (FOPEA), a nationwide grouping of independent journalists, adopted the country’s first comprehensive ethics code. This is an important step given that journalists in Argentina face constant challenges to the delivery of balanced news reports. However, many FOPEA members have had difficulty understanding how to apply the code. FOPEA therefore proposes to produce a user’s guide and ethics advisory council, both of which will help journalists and media companies address ethical dilemmas. The code will encourage self-regulation, while the advisory...
Mexico is one of the most challenging countries for journalists in Latin America. In 2012, ARTICLE 19 (an NGO) documented 207 aggressions against press workers and media organisations, a 20% increase on the previous year. This project aims to help reduce the number of media workers attacked for carrying out their work in Mexico by: a) improving their understanding of the right to freedom of expression; and b) bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice.
This project aims to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through print media and television. It will provide training to individuals from the press, radio, television, journalists’ associations and universities in order to encourage these organizations to adopt practices and policies that focus on gender equality.
This project seeks to foster a framework for media self-regulation in Uruguay by strengthening the implementation of the Code of Ethics recently approved by the Association of Uruguayan journalists. It will do so by: a) promoting awareness of the Code among media and journalism students so that as many media organizations as possible adopt it voluntarily, thereby strengthening its enforceability; and b) setting a date for the first periodic review, thereby ensuring maximum participation in a national debate on media self-regulation.
On May 16th 2012, Brazil saw its Freedom of Information Law come into force. The text, approved by the Brazilian Congress after intense advocacy by civil society (mainly Abraji and the Right of Access to Public Information Forum), is one of the most comprehensive of the world. It includes municipalities, states and federal government and involves Judiciary, Executive and Legislative aspects. According to the text, most information must be made public in the Internet in computer-friendly format. The text also details the few exceptions to the new general instruction of transparency. But in...
The media are essential to implementing the public information laws, enabling citizens to have a better knowledge of the current legislation, but they are also a tool for the exercise of journalistic activity in its role as watchdog of state institutions. Although Uruguay has an acceptable level of media development –considering its number of commercial, community and state radio stations and the number of existing newspapers- the same cannot be said about the diversity and plurality of the country’s media system as a whole. Among audiovisual media, private supply is thoroughly predominant...
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