Panama has been an important mass media hub, because of its strategic location between North and South America.
The media was under strict control during the regime of the dictators that ruled Panama from 1968 to 1989, including Manuel Noriega.
The media of Panama was very anti-American following Noriega's overthrow, and highly influenced the 1994 presidential election.
During media coverage, journalists have reported instances of being attacked by both protesters and the police.
An example was the assassination of Darío Fernández Jaen, who was a government critic and had exposed anomalies in the allocation of land titles in the province of Coclé.