In a statement, WAN-IFRA, which represents 18,000 newspapers, 15,000 online sites and 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries, said the measure was clearly part of a governmental campaign against the independent press, violated fundamental principles of press freedom and could be used to censor and punish critical comment. 

The new measure, passed by the Senate on Thursday and by the lower house last week, gives the state control over Papel Prensa, the country's leading producer of newsprint. The company is currently owned jointly by the country's leading media group, Grupo Clarin, and the newspaper publisher La Nacion, with the government holding a 27.5 percent share.

The WAN-IFRA statement said the law is the latest in an ongoing campaign by President Cristina Kirchner's campaign against the independent press in the country.

"We believe the measure, which imposes government control over private enterprise,  is a step backward for Argentina and will hurt the country's international reputation," WAN-IFRA said in a statement. "The measure allows government interference in the press in the name of maintaining media diversity. This is an absurd argument in the digital age, when media are more diverse than ever before."

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Deputy CEO & Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs, WAN-IFRA, 96 bis, rue Beaubourg, 75003 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: larry.kilman@wan-ifra.org