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Alert

President calls for more regulatory power over media

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 15 September 2007, during an address broadcast on radio, President Rafael Correa asked the new Constituent Assembly, which will begin its deliberations on 30 September, to further regulate the media so as to "stop them from being able to manipulate information".

The president made this request after declaring that the state should have more regulatory powers over media outlets that, according to him, are the "property of bankers" and defend private interests.

Correa has been confronting newspapers and television stations since he was sworn in to office in January 2007. He accuses them of belonging to financial groups that "pretend to be independent".

Two weeks prior to the president's statement on radio, the newspaper "El Universo" published an article in which Correa was accused of nepotism, and some of his relatives were alleged to have received money belonging to the state. Correa denied the allegations, asked for the record to be rectified and demanded "an end to journalistic lies".