Last month, a journalist was killed in a slum in Argentina. He had just created a TV channel that was the first slum TV channel in the country. The belief is that he was killed because he was planning on reporting on the drug trade within the slum. In this case, freedom of expression may have come at a price. Just last year, Argentina passed new laws designed to "democratize the country's media," which was previously dominated by large corporations. This law was designed to open up opportunities for the nonprofit sector and those who have not been able to have their voices heard. Under this new law, Ledesma was able to create his new channel dedicated to stories concerning the slum. Although Argentina's shift toward a more democratic media has created a more diverse media and has enabled smaller organizations and groups to voice their opinions, this new found freedom of expression could be resulting in news reports that aren't favorable to everyone. If Ledesma was in fact killed because of his reports on the drug trade in the slums, then there is a need for laws to protect journalists and their freedom of expression.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
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It's frustrating to see "democratization" of the media not paired with improved journalist protection. Increasing narrative pluralism and exercising one's freedom of expression should never come at the cost of life. However, as we all know, the existence of legal machinery that protects individuals on paper often does little to actually protect them in practice.
ReplyDeleteThe drug factor in the above story further complicates things. As in Mexico, drug lords are often more powerful than government or civil society, and corruption is often deep and widespread. Assigning blame when journalists are harmed becomes increasingly difficult when the "good guys" and the "bad guys" are often one and the same.