A real journalist has two innate values: courage to denounce any abusive power and the lack of fear to any dangers, whatever they might be.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, for example, reporters were on deserted streets, in hospital wards, or within human crowds looking for news, at all risks.
In different cities of Latin America, they’ve had to face restrictions to carry out their job, leading to them being victims of momentary prisons, and at least 143 of them losing their lives to the Coronavirus.
They’ve been in the midst of revolts and protests, peaceful or violent, that broke out in many cities of the United States and around the world, after that brutal murder case of the African-American named George Floyd.
Under this context, at least 279 episodes of violation of the human right to report were suffered in different ways, such as the breakdown or confiscation of journalist work teams, more than 70 physical attacks, 45 arbitrary arrests, more than 65 injured to rubber bullets and other projectiles.
It’s been a short and terrible period for freedom of expression, while we’ve also lived a strong shock that the quarantine lockdown has produced over the traditional journalistic business model.
Printed newspapers have temporarily or permanently suspended their physical editions and have migrated to their digitization, due to the factor of restrictions on circulation and, consequently, the drastic drop in ad revenue.
Despite this dense atmosphere of difficulties, the independent press, committed to the truth, continues to show its open heart through the immeasurable courage of not bowing down or stashing, either to bullets or to the negative changes of Covid-19.
– Translated from Spanish by Randy Rodriguez.
Director's Thoughts 