Honduran Police Detain Six Television Journalists

[Judi Lynn]

Honduran Police Detain Six Television Journalists
By Jens Erik Gould

July 12 (Bloomberg) -- Honduran police detained six employees of the regional television network Telesur and Venezuela state-run station Venezolana de Television last night, according to Angel Vargas, first secretary at the Venezuelan embassy in Tegucigalpa.

The journalists were taken to police headquarters for five hours and their passports were confiscated, Vargas said. They were then taken to their hotel, given back their passports and told not to leave until immigration officials arrived, he said.

“They told us we should leave the country because our security wasn’t guaranteed and we were at risk here,” said Larry Sanchez, a Telesur technician who was among those who were detained. “‘We have intelligence and we’re following you,’ they said.”

It was the second time that Venezuelan journalists had been detained in Honduras since a June 28 coup that ousted Manuel Zelaya as president, Vargas said. Honduran soldiers arrested Telesur journalists at gunpoint in their hotel rooms on June 29 and later let them go, he said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aMdwXU4GsBms

[Judi Lynn]

1. Skewed coverage has followed Honduran coup

Skewed coverage has followed Honduran coup
By Carlos Lauría/Americas Senior Program Coordinator

The ongoing political crisis following the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya on June 28 has damaged the press freedom climate in Honduras. Complying with orders by caretaker leader Roberto Micheletti, Honduran security forces shut down local broadcasters, blocked transmissions of international news networks, and briefly detained journalists in the aftermath of the coup, CPJ research shows. But part of the damage was self-inflicted: Some media outlets have slanted coverage to favor the coup leaders.
Alexis Quiroz, executive director with the Committee for Freedom of Expression (C-Libre), a local press freedom group, said the situation remains unstable. "The curfew imposed by the new government has created serious restrictions for local reporters," Quiroz told CPJ. But Quiroz also noted that some media outlets have favored Micheletti. On Sunday, when the military blocked Zelaya's return flight and opened fire on his supporters at the Tegucigalpa airport, most television stations broadcast an official event instead, he said.

Manuel Torres, an independent journalist and local media analyst, went as far as to say that most Honduran media have acted in a partisan way against Zelaya. "The ousted president," said Torres, "had a contentious relationship with the press and frequently used charged rhetoric" in responding to criticism in the media. Torres charged that media bias has led to manipulation of facts, the presentation of misleading information, and the use of selective censorship. "The press ignored the facts, misused sources, and transformed speculation into information," Torres told CPJ.

The Associated Press has reported that most TV stations have devoted coverage to protests favoring Micheletti, while ignoring those supporting Zelaya. Radio reports, the AP said, were more balanced but still delivered more information on the de facto government.

"The behavior of the Honduran media during the coup bears a resemblance to what happened in Venezuela , ignoring facts or only broadcasting the views of the new officials," said Arturo Wallace Salinas, who covers Central America for the BBC. When Venezuela's Hugo Chávez

More:
http://cpj.org/blog/2009/07/skewed-coverage-has-followed-honduras-coup.php