No News is Bad News - Latin America

Although the Latin American region as a whole is experiencing improved economic growth, access to wealth creation, education and information are unequally distributed and form a deepening rift in countries such as Bolivia, El Salvador and Guatemala. The situation is further hampered by an inadequate media landscape where corporate oligopolies dominate. In some countries (Ecuador, Venezuela, Argentina) authoritarian governments stifle freedom of expression and access to information. Mainstream media are either predominantly in private corporate hands or controlled by the state. In this climate, media struggle to hold powerful groups accountable and fulfil their watchdog role. Organised crime networks take advantage of a burgeoning disaffected youth population, narco- and human trafficking, human trafficking and environmental degradation have laid siege on civil society and democratic processes. Targeted attacks on journalists often go unpunished have led to a media landscape prone to self-censorship and sensationalism with many journalists leaving the profession resulting in a lack of accountability mechanisms in society. EJC will increase work with media in its target country of Bolivia in order to increase capacity in investigative journalism. Media partners will be provided with technological tools and data journalism skills. Lobby and advocacy activities will focus on improving the legal framework for media and safety of journalists, strengthening the networks between civil society and media to increase government accountability with a focus on access to information. The media literacy component increases the capacity of youth to understand the important role of the media in democratic societies and their ability to become critical-thinkers and engaged citizens. Programme for Dialogue and Dissent In Bolivia EJC will focus on developing evidence-based reporting and increasing the capacity of media actors to press for increased accountability. Special attention will be focused on developing media formats and literacy programmes to engage with the population in order to empower them. Lobby and advocacy actions need to be increased related to journalist self-censorship and media literacy in order to increase the ability of targeted audiences to engage and participate in media and society as an effective citizenry. Interventions and specific objectives per country are specified in the country profiles. Our current expectation is that Paraguay and Ecuador are countries with similar problems and topics of concern.