Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

has been an important mass media hub, because of its strategic location between

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. The largest newspapers in Panama are ''La Prensa'', ''La Estrella'', ''Panama America'', ''Critica'', and ''El Siglo'', all of which are published in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

. Weekly newspapers include the ''Critica Libre'' and ''La Cronica''. All of these are published in Spanish, and are also based in Panama City. The media of Panama has been highly influenced by that of the United States, since the construction of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

. Radio broadcasting in Panama began in 1922, and television broadcasting in 1956. Radio and television broadcasts also reached the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

because it lay within the vicinity of Panama. A famous military broadcast network, the

Southern Command Network The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...

(SCN), broadcast in Panama until the United States withdrew from the canal in 1999. The SCN remained on the air for hours during the invasion of Panama by U.S. troops in 1989. Color television in Panama is provided by the

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

system. The media was under strict control during the regime of the dictators that ruled Panama from 1968 to 1989, including

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator, politician and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. An authoritaria ...

. His regime was noted for the eventual demise of all opposition media while existing media outlets were consistently fed with anti-American propaganda. The newsletter ''La Prensa'' was formed in 1981 to oppose his rule. The media of Panama was very anti-American following Noriega's overthrow, and highly influenced the 1994 presidential election. Panama's official broadcaster is National Television of Panama, which was founded in 1961. NTP started Panama's first color television service in 1972.

Freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...

is guaranteed in Panama, as is the case in most other countries in the Western Hemisphere. However, reports of harassment and violence against journalists and media outlets persist. During media coverage, journalists have reported instances of being attacked by both protesters and the police. There are also cases of killings. An example was the assassination of Darío Fernández Jaen, who was a government critic and had exposed anomalies in the allocation of land titles in the province of Coclé.Journalists Killed in 2011 - Motive Confirmed: Darío Fernández Jaén
. ''Refworld''. Retrieved 2024-03-15.

References

{{Americas topic, Media of

See also

References