Digital Publishing Interesting and Timeless
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Why Bolivia’s Oldest Journalist Association Went Digital To Defend Press Freedom

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For over seven years, the European Journalism Centre (ECJ) has worked in Bolivia to support the independent press, accountability reporting and new innovative ways of communicating factual information.

As press freedom continues its relentless slide in the country, organisations that defend journalists rights are increasingly turning to innovative tactics to push back.

One of them is long-time EJC partner Asociacion de Periodistas de La Paz (APLP), the most influential journalist association in Bolivia, led by its dynamic president, journalist and university professor, Nelson Martinez Espinoza.

He pitched his all-digital radio concept to the EJC in 2016: a platform for press freedom advocacy and a censorship-free way to reach younger audiences as well as APLP’s supporters directly online.

After 88 years, this is the first time that APLP has its own means of communication. Other than a part-time radio channel in Ecuador, APLP Radio is a one-of-a-kind digital press freedom platform in South America.

APLP radio first and foremost acts as a platform, an innovative advocacy tool to support and defend freedom of expression and journalism safety in Bolivia. The radio produces information aimed at debating issues of national interest to Bolivia’s broad and diverse public, the country’s diaspora and also to network with other journalist associations across Latin America.

It is very proud of being ‘all-digital’ and making the most of new technologies to support dialogue between authorities, public and private entities and citizens, educating its audience with the aim of seeking solutions to the pressing social, economic and other issues facing Bolivia.

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Photo by Kyle Loftus on Unsplash