Voices of Resilience: Colombian Journalists and Self-Censorship in the Post-Conflict Period

Abstract

Colombian journalists experience abundant threats and acts of violence as well as corporate and governmental obstacles to publishing the truth. In response, many reporters engage in self-censorship, eschewing stories to protect their livelihoods—and their very lives. Our in-depth interviews with sixteen journalists in the post-conflict era, some of whom have had to leave the country because of such threats, disclose the severity of the problem in deeply textured ways. The results show that dependency on sources and advertising, severe judicial and online harassment, and powerful editorial pressures prevent journalists from reporting freely. The generalized fear, the distribution of official advertising and political publicity, the media’s property, and local journalists’ vulnerability are the key factors that trigger self-censorship. Nevertheless, these journalists also have counterstrategies to circumvent the problem and further democracy, such as sharing scoops with colleagues when covering sensitive issues, finding international funding, or creating new online media.