Status: Partly Free
Legal Environment: 15 (of 30)
Political Environment: 22 (of 40)
Economic Environment: 14 (of 30)
Total Score: 51 (of 100)
(Lower scores = freer)
Freedom of speech and of the press are constitutionally protected; however, the government generally does not respect these rights in practice. Despite the fact that Honduras banned desacato (disrespect) or criminal defamation legislation aimed at protecting the honor of public officials, restrictive press laws are still often used to subpoena journalists for reporting on official corruption, drug trafficking, and human rights abuses. In a positive step, the Transparency and Access to Public Information Law approved by Congress in 2006 was improved after complaints by local watchdog groups.
President Manuel Zelaya often criticizes the media when he perceives news reports as being unfriendly to his government. He has accused journalists of exaggerating the government's mistakes and minimizing its accomplishments. In May 2007, President Zelaya announced that all radio and television stations in the country must simultaneously transmit, per a determined schedule, reports by the government and interviews with public officials. These mandatory simultaneous broadcasts seek to "counteract media disinformation" about the government, according to the president. In October, Zelaya criticized the media and characterized their ownership as an oligopoly.In a positive step, a draft law was introduced in Congress in October to protect journalists and media companies from criminal charges stemming from their work, though the measure stopped short of extending similar protections to private individuals.
During the year, journalists faced a number of legal prosecutions from political figures. In September, the manager of the state telecommunications agency, Hondureña de Telecomunicaciones (Hondutel) filed a series of slander lawsuits against journalists for publishing reports about alleged misappropriation and diversion of funds. The criminal court later dismissed the case.
Threats and physical attacks against journalists continued in 2007, especially related to the publication of articles on organized crime or corruption. The Committee for Free Expression reported that by the end of the year, 11 journalists had been subjected to threats and intimidation. In February, two journalists from the daily La Tribuna received death threats in connection with their investigative reporting on corruption at the Honduran Institute of Social Security. In October, radio journalist Carlos Salgado was murdered by unidentified assailants near his office at Radio Cadena Voces in Tegucigalpa. Salgado was widely known for his satirical criticism of the Honduran government, The news director of Radio Cadenas Voces, Dagoberto Rodríguez, fled the country after police reports revealed his name on a hit list. In September, radio journalist Hector Geovanny García of channel Hondured also left the country after being fired upon in public. García had implicated officials in the Public Works Department of corruption stemming from road resurfacing contracts. On the same day, journalist Martín Ramírez was repeatedly threatened after publishing an article in La Tribuna suggesting connections between youth gangs and the local police.
Honduras has around nine daily papers, including the popular El Heraldo and El Tiempo. There are six private television stations and five nationally broadcasting radio stations – one state owned and four independent. Although both print and broadcast outlets are predominantly privately owned, media ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few powerful business conglomerates with intersecting political and economic ties; this has led to self-censorship. Corruption among journalists also has an unfavorable impact on reporting. In addition, the government influences media coverage through bribes, the granting or denial of access to government officials, and selective placement of official advertisements. The government did not restrict access to the internet; however, less than 5 percent of the population used the internet in 2007.
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