THE AMERICAS — COLOMBIA — ADVERTISING & INFLUENCE
In Colombia, local media depend heavily on advertising by regional and municipal government agencies to stay in business, encouraging collusion among media owners, journalists, and officials, Freedom House reported.
THE AMERICAS — ARGENTINA — ADVERTISING & INFLUENCE
Argentina’s government is accused of routinely manipulating distribution of official advertising to limit free speech, according to many press freedom organizations. The newspapers Clarín and La Nación account for 60 percent of the readership in Buenos Aries, but receive just 2.5 percent of government advertising. Other newspapers with a small fraction of the circulation are awarded far more official advertising.
Read more:
Freedom House, Freedom of the Press 2013—Argentina, http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/ freedom-press/2013/argentina#.Uz0dQl4kjK4
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Attacks on the Press in 2011—Argentina, February 2012, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,CPJ,,ARG,,4f4cc9972d,0.html
AFRICA — NAMIBIA — ADVERTISING & INFLUENCE
In 2012, Namibia’s government ended a decade-long advertising boycott of The Namibian, the country’s largest daily newspaper. In 2000, then President Sam Nujoma blocked all government advertising and purchases of the leading daily because he perceived the newspaper to be anti-governmental.
EUROPE — UKRAINE — BRIBES & PAYMENTS
In Ukraine, “jeansa” (money pocketed in blue jeans commonly worn by journalists, in exchange for positive media coverage) is widespread, a 2009 CIMA report found. Government and private companies reportedly do not simply buy advertising space, but pay for entire articles presented as news.
ASIA — MALAYSIA — BRIBES & PAYMENTS
In Malaysia, journalists reported they were offered bribes and kickbacks from politicians while reporting on the 2013 general election.
ASIA — KAZAKHSTAN — SUBSIDIES
In Kazakhstan, all types of print media are supposed to receive state contributions of some kind, but pro-government publications often receive preferential treatment over independent and potentially critical outlets. According to IREX, a local state-run newspaper received funding amounting to USD 235,000 in 2011, the same year an independent newspaper received only USD 6,700.
THE AMERICAS — MEXICO — BRIBERY/PAYMENTS
Directly corrupt practices persist in Mexico, including offering typically poorly-paid journalists bribes—known colloquially as “chayote”—to influence their reporting, as well as other payments allegedly made to editors, owners, and publicists. Some media owners are active partners in a corrupt symbiosis that rewards propaganda, the WAN-IFRA soft censorship report found.