The Labor Modernization project promoted by the Government of Javier Milei includes, in one of its most significant changes, the elimination of the Professional Journalist Statute, a Soviet-style regulation that for decades regulated journalistic activity with a series of specific provisions that are incompatible with a modern model of labor and freedom of expression.
Among the most controversial points of that statute is the requirement of a mandatory state license to practice journalism, an absurd privilege that implies the direct intervention of the State in the authorization within the press sphere, harming all those independent journalists who even do a better job on an individual basis.
Added to this are operational restrictions that affect the daily functioning of media outlets, such as the impossibility of outsourcing local news coverage. According to what is established, events that occur in a given city can only be covered by journalists from that same place, limiting the organizational and operational capacity of media companies.
The statute also imposes strict limits on the management and composition of media outlets. For example, no foreigner can run a media outlet and each newsroom is allowed to have a maximum of 10% foreign workers. This type of provision establishes direct barriers to international participation within the informational ecosystem, restricting access and professional diversity in the sector.
