FOTP 2013 Full Report

Brazil is South America’s largest media market, with thousands of radio stations,hundreds of television channels, and a variety of major newspapers. In addition, about 50 percentof the population had access to the internet in 2012. Ownership of mass media continues to behighly concentrated among a few large companies. An estimated 10 business groups controlmost of the country’s outlets. The Globo Organizations conglomerate enjoys a dominantposition, with Brazil’s principal television, cable, and satellite networks as well as several radiostations and print outlets. Another company, Editora Abril, leads Brazil’s magazine market.Hundreds of politicians nationwide are either directors or partners in roughly 300 mediacompanies, most of them radio and television stations, according to the independent mediamonitoring group Media Owners (Donos da Midia). A Reporters Without Borders report citedthe cozy relationship between media companies and politicians as one of the greatest obstacles tomedia diversity in Brazil. It also warned that high levels of government advertising createdependency and “financial servitude” on the part of the media.Media diversity is hampered in part by the difficulty of obtaining community radiolicenses. It can take up to 10 years in some cases to get a license, and only those stationstransmitting at less than 25 watts qualify as “community” stations, meaning stations transmittingat 25 to 100 watts are often forced to operate illegally. In a 2012 submission to the UNHRC,Article 19 documented 326 legal cases—roughly half of them criminal—against communityradio stations. For example, José Eduardo Rocha Santos, owner of a station in Sergipe State,faced a 30-month prison sentence for operating without a license until the verdict was overturnedon appeal in July.BruneiStatus: Not FreeLegal Environment: 28Political Environment: 25Economic Environment: 22Total Score: 75Survey Edition 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Total Score, Status 75,NF 75,NF 75,NF 75,NF 75,NFThe absolute monarchy of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, as well as emergency laws that have been inplace for nearly half a century, continue to restrict journalists and limit the diversity of mediacontent in Brunei. Journalists face up to three years of imprisonment if found guilty of reporting“false and malicious” news. Passage of the 2005 Sedition Act worsened the state of pressfreedom in Brunei by expanding the list of punishable offenses to include criticism of the sultan,the royal family, and the national Malay Islamic Monarchy ideology, which promotes Islam asthe state religion and the idea that monarchical rule is the only acceptable form of governance.Under the amended law, persons found in violation of these offenses, or any publishers, editors,or proprietors of a newspaper publishing items with seditious intent, face fines of up toBN$5,000 (US$4,000). There is no legislation establishing the right to access officialinformation.100