Colombia

Despite some improvements under the government of President Uribe, conditions for media professionals are still constrained. Several cases of harassments and killings of political candidates and journalists were reported prior to the municipal elections held in October 2007. Under these circumstances, IMS seeks to support local media actors in their attempts to improve the quality of media as well as the safety and working conditions of journalist.

Self-censorship threatens journalism in Colombia

Reporters take images of a guerrilla soldier. Photo: PAN, El Tiempo Newspaper. Colombia

31.07.2009

Colombia's on-going civil conflict over the last 50 years and drug-related crime has claimed many victims. One of these is the state of free and independent media in the country. Speaking from her office in Bogotá, Ms. Paola Valderrama, Coordinator of the IMS-funded alliance of media organisations Proyecto Antonio Nariño (PAN), discusses the challenges facing the Colombian media in a fragile democracy

As the only media alliance in Colombia, PAN's role is to map out all the organisations and activities that support media and freedom of expression in Colombia to ensure coordination, collaboration and a stronger impact.

Safety a major concern

- Self-censorship is the biggest challenge facing Colombian media today, a result of the lack of physical safety for journalists, weak economic support of media and a deeply rooted culture of secrecy, says Ms. Paola Valderrama.

- Safety continues to be the main concern. Because of the conflict, travelling in the countryside and reporting from different regions can be dangerous. Part of PAN's role as an alliance promoting the rights of journalists, freedom of information and access to information, is to improve the conditions for journalistic practices.

According to a May 2009 report about media in Colombia from Reporters without Borders, the number of murdered journalists has fallen during Alvaro Uribe's seven year presidency, but journalists continue to be forced into exile by paramilitaries. (http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49fea98428.html).

Local journalists are still vulnerable to reprisals from armed groups, wiretapping of their phones and emails and suffer death threats. Self-censorship by journalists is thought to have been a factor in the reduction of murder rate.

- Currently, the illegal interception of phone calls, e-mails and private activities of journalists is increasing. A strong debate on why state intelligence is intercepting people who are not involved in legal processes and the implications this has for journalistic work is urgent.

Defamation is penalising Columbia

Defamation is a crime in Colombia, but rather than jailing journalists, there is a stronger tendency for accusers to harass journalists about their coverage of political issues. According to Ms. Valderrama, the result is self-censorship in the media which affects journalistic products and thus penalises the Colombian citizens, leaving them with poorer channels of information.

- Sometimes defamation cases have been a good mechanism to ensure truthful, wholesome journalism, but in many cases defamation suits are also used by the accusers to divert attention from what is often the truth. The judicial procedures cost time and money for media outlets, she says.

Maintaining the collective historical memory of the conflict

A major stumbling block for Colombian media, according to Ms. Valderrama, is how to maintain the collective historical memory of a conflict that has been on-going for the better part of half a century.

- The media plays an important role in the conflict. They are the windows through which Colombian public opinion watches the conflict, creates an image of the situation and takes a position on its critical issues. The media should show to people the roots of the conflict and its different phases to understand what has been happening in the country for the last five decades, says Ms. Valderrama.

- The focus of media has been on violence and not so much on opportunities for peacemaking and peace initiatives. New developments, news and events of the conflict are reported on every day, but if these are presented independently from any previous significant developments in the conflict, it gives the public little chance to assess the level of progress or setbacks. That is why maintaining a collective memory of the conflict is so important.

Sacrificing independence for financial survival

Another challenge highlighted by PAN is the discouraging working conditions of journalists and the lack of economic support for media outlets in general.

- Most journalists work without contracts and without regular salaries. Journalists and media outlets have to sell advertisement spaces to their sources of information as part of their job agreements, primarily for government announcements and to companies in order to cover their costs. Especially smaller media find it difficult to survive on these terms.

- If your main announcer is the government, your editorial independence is threatened, Ms. Valderrama emphasises.

- There are too many interests at stake, you are using public resources to broadcast messages without being transparent about the funds that have exchanged hands to broadcast the messages. However, difficult working conditions should not be an excuse to ignore social responsibility, she says.

- That is why members of the PAN alliance with the support of IMS is helping to train journalists to reflect about their responsibility as a public voice. A member of the PAN alliance, the Freedom of Press Foundation (FLIP), helps to oversee government transparency pacts concerning public advertisement allocation and local regulation initiatives.

Culture of secrecy

Ms. Valderrama goes on to say that Colombia needs a more efficient legal framework that ensures the media and public access to public information, as well as an authority which monitors how this information comes about. Journalists and civil society also need training in the usage of existing legal mechanisms.

- We live in a deeply rooted culture of secrecy, says Ms. Valderrama.

- With IMS´ support we are developing a website that focuses on access to information and freedom of expression for media organisations in Colombia. We are also working to improve the literature about these subjects taught to journalism students at university faculties around Colombia.

- The problems of media in Colombia are not only related to the ongoing conflict. They are much more complex. They are structural. We need to develop regulation for the fundamental rights guaranteed by the political constitution to support freedom of expression and journalists' working conditions.

- PAN's main contribution is the mapping out of all organisations and activities that support media and work for freedom of expression in Colombia, to gather efforts and resources, coordinate joint actions and strengthen impact.

IMS and PAN

For Jesper Højberg, Head of International Media Support, the importance of supporting a media alliance such as PAN are clear.

- PAN's work as an alliance of media organisations fighting for freedom of expression is unique to Colombia. Joint action is key to making an impact on the working conditions of media and promoting change from within. Together with PAN our aim is to establish a stronger and more responsible media base in Colombia by building alliances within the media community.

Ms. Valderrama agrees.

- With a common platform from which to work and coordinate our activities, we have a greater impact. We are on track, but we have a long way ahead of us.