(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 13 October 2006 IAPA press release: IAPA criticises discrimination in allocation of government advertising contracts Miami (13 October 2006) – The arbitrary allocation of government advertising contracts is being used to reward or punish journalists and media outlets for their editorial stance, an issue which was extensively debated in […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 13 October 2006 IAPA press release:
IAPA criticises discrimination in allocation of government advertising contracts
Miami (13 October 2006) – The arbitrary allocation of government advertising contracts is being used to reward or punish journalists and media outlets for their editorial stance, an issue which was extensively debated in Mexico during IAPA’s 62nd general assembly, given that this practice persists in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela, among others.
In its review of freedom of the press in the western hemisphere, IAPA concluded that “the arbitrary distribution of government advertising contracts continues to be a serious problem in Argentina, where the government continues its policy of using public funds to ‘reward’ friendly media outlets and to ‘punish’ critical or independent ones. In Chile, this matter has begun to concern the legislative bodies, which have decided to investigate how government advertising contracts are distributed,” while in Uruguay, the Executive Branch has also made a public commitment to begin to adopt measures to rationalize the use of government advertising.
IAPA approved 25 resolutions at the end of its meeting, held from 29 September to 3 October 2006 in Mexico City, D.F.. One of the resolutions was on the subject of discrimination in official advertising contracts and corruption, of which the text follows:
WHEREAS various governments, institutions and public enterprises in the hemisphere use government publicity contracts as an instrument to reward or punish media outlets, ignoring technical criteria and efficiency in the use of public funds
WHEREAS using the same criteria and without any technical basis, in some cases credit or other economic-administrative benefits have been granted
WHEREAS the money thus allocated belongs to the public
WHEREAS in a large number of cases these discriminatory practices are governments’ response to accusations of corruption
WHEREAS Principle 6 of the Declaration of Chapultepec stipulates that “The media and journalists should neither be discriminated against nor favored because of what they write or say”
WHEREAS Principle 7 stipulates that ” . . . the granting or withdrawal of government advertising may not be used to reward or punish the media or individual journalists.”
– to reiterate its condemnation and repudiation of any handling of government advertising and other kinds of economic or administrative measures that is discriminatory or not based on technical criteria, used as an instrument to grant privileges to or punish media outlets or to influence their editorial decisions and news policies
– to continue to denounce these kinds of conduct as serious attacks on press freedom and as acts of corruption, given the improper use of public funds being made in benefit of their temporary administrators’ private interests
– to condemn those media or journalists who benefit from these irregular and illegitimate practices or who even, through their conduct, are complicit in these corrupt practices
– to demand that governments throughout the continent eradicate these kinds of illegitimate practices and punish those responsible for such acts
To read the reports, resolutions and conclusions of the general assembly, please visit: http://www.sipiapa.org
