Tue, 05 May 2026, 2:00 PM  Structural Inequalities and Risk in Latin American Journalism

Journalism in Latin America can be characterized as structurally fragile and marked by the convergence of physical, psychological, political, and economic pressures. Journalists across the region routinely face threats from various sources - including organized crime, militias, cartels, politicians, the judiciary system, and anonymous people. In many countries, the media industry is marked by high ownership concentration, economic, technological, or political dependency, and profound employment precarity. Poor working conditions in tandem with an unsafe environment undermine journalistic performance and editorial independence. These overlapping pressures not only endanger journalists’ safety but also the quality of public information in the region. This talk examines how structural inequalities shape journalists’ working conditions and risk experiences in Latin America. Women, black, mixed race, indigenous, and LGBTQIA+ journalists encounter overlapping threats and discriminatory practices that compromise their well-being and career advancement. Studies show that in countries such as Brazil, these groups face persistent pay and job instability inequalities, besides higher risks of stress, harassment, and sexual abuse within their workplace. Female journalists are disproportionately exposed to specific forms of violence, including demeaning speech, delegitimization, online harassment, and gender-based attacks. These disparities intensify existing vulnerabilities, fostering self-censorship and a lack of pluralism in the media discourse. Hence, the challenges facing journalism in the region cannot be understood in isolation. Rather, they should be seen as interconnected structural conditions that both reproduce existing social inequalities and actively shape them. Dr. Janara Nicoletti, University of Siegen (research fellow at Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism - TU Dortmund -, and associated researcher at the Journalism Ethics Observatory (objEHTOS)- Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil).