E c u a d o r

18. REGULATION OF FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF PUBLICATIONS

The Law of Professional Practice of Journalism includes a series of provisions regarding the role of foreigners in the media. Explicit reference is made to the following subjects:

Art. 17: ?Owners, editors, assistant editors, managers and assistant managers of mass communication media shall be citizens of Ecuador.?

Art. 31: ?Foreign journalists who enter the country to carry out temporary professional assignments shall register at the National Secretariat of Public Information and shall not perform any work besides their specific mission. Foreign journalists attached to official delegations of friendly countries shall not be required to register for the duration of their mission. Immigration authorities apprised of the arrival of journalists described in the previous clause shall report their entry immediately to the National Secretariat of Public Information, which shall determine the time period for implementing their assignments.?

The Law of Radio Broadcasting and Television also provides for the presence of Ecuadorans in radio and television.

Art. 56: ?All advertising materials of national and foreign companies, organizations and activities broadcast by the stations shall be produced in this country with Ecuadoran personnel.?

Art. 57: ?In the production and/or transmission of performances, programs and spectacles with foreign artists, stations shall include Ecuadoran artists as prescribed by law.?

Art. 61: ?Directors, managers and other department heads, announcers, maintenance and operations technicians, and in general all radio and television professionals, shall be Ecuadoran citizens. For the first two categories they must have been born in Ecuador.

Exception is made for radio announcers in foreign productions.

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