26 Jun 12 | Americas, Index Index, minipost
A Chilean TV journalist has been suspended after making satirical remarks about a tribute to the country’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet. After an interview with the tribute’s organiser Juan González, sports reporter Víctor Gómez said “we will wait for the smell of sulphur to dissipate” from the studio before launching into his programme on the channel Chilevisión. The reporter was not fired for his remarks, but has been warned against violating the channel’s editorial guidelines.
26 Jun 12 | Americas, Index Index, minipost
Mexican crime journalist Stephania Cardoso, who went missing with her two-year-old son on 8 June, is understood to be under the protection of the federal government. Cardoso, a reporter with the Zócalo Saltillo newspaper in the state of Coahuila, spoke to Radio Fórmula on 15 June, confirming she and her son were alive and well but gave no further details of her whereabouts or circumstances surrounding her disappearance. Colleagues last saw Cardoso and her son on 7 June during a Freedom of Expression Day celebration.
22 Jun 12 | Europe and Central Asia, Index Index, minipost, News and features
Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut was detained last night for allegedly insulting the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko. Poczobut writes for Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, and now faces up to five years in prison. According to his wife, police raided the couple’s apartment, and confiscated the journalist’s computer. Last year, Poczobut was handed a suspended sentence for articles he wrote against Lukashenko. Officers reportedly told his wife that they would “not leave him alone” if he continues to criticise the president.
22 Jun 12 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost
A prominent Hong Kong newspaper has been criticised for self censorship by members of its staff. Journalists at the South China Morning Post have complained over coverage of the suspicious death of dissident Li Wangyang on 6 June. A number of emails between senior subeditor Alex Price to the newspaper’s editor Wang Xiangwei described staff concerns, as Price said that the minimal coverage of the death looked “a lot like self censorship”. Wang responded: “I don’t have to explain to you anything. I made the decision and I stand by it. If you don’t like it, you know what to do.”
