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DURING the presentation of the Interamerican Institute for Democracy‘s Quo Vadis Latin America forum, El American’s co-editor-in-chief, Vanessa Vallejo, gave a presentation on the responsibility of the media and the role of independent journalism in the formation of public opinion, the interpretation of reality and the way in which the audience, the media-consuming citizens, see the world.
According to her position, the media are “a kind of glass” through which citizens observe reality, although it is common to underestimate the power of influence that the media have on society.
“People tend to believe that the media are impartial,” said Vallejo, making an exercise of self-reflection from her position as a journalist. “From the moment you decide what information you are going to present, you have a certain degree of bias.”
In this regard, she gave the example of the U.S. press coverage of Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop. The media, instead of presenting him as a man with serious criminal links, decided to show him as a role model for his ability to redeem his weaknesses and become an artist.
“The media are not the fourth estate, they are the power,” Vallejo said in a Spanish-language speech. “They can put up and take down presidents, destroy the image of someone who is not guilty of what they have been accused of.”
Vallejo on the role of the press in totalitarian regimes
Regarding the situation of the press in Latin America, Vallejo pointed out that, with certain exceptions, political persecution against journalists in the region is brutal, especially in totalitarian and socialist regimes such as Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
However, despite the victimization of the profession in our countries, Latin American journalists tend to support and promote politicians and parties whose speeches end up leading to the persecution of dissidents and the suppression of freedoms, starting with freedom of the press.
Vallejo explained that it is indeed political persecution in her native country, Colombia, the reason why she now lives in the United States, and she made special emphasis, more than on the problem of censorship, on the tendency to self-censorship: when journalists, even sacrificing their principles, remain silent in order not to violate the susceptibilities of the powers that be.
When she was practicing her profession in her country, she wrote a Spanish-language article titled “Los violadores que son “honorables” congresistas en Colombia,” in which she referred to the former guerrillas accused of raping kidnapped children and who today occupy seats in the Colombian Congress after the peace pact that former President Juan Manuel Santos reached with the FARC in Havana.
Following the publication of the article, one of the accused congressmen sued her and a judge ruled that, instead of referring to the guerrilla as a rapist, she should have used the word “alleged”.
“What happens in a country where everything becomes alleged?” asked Vallejo. “And everyone becomes ex: ex-terrorist, ex-murderer, that doesn’t exist. Once you murdered, you are always going to be a murderer. There are no ex-murderers.”
With her words, Vallejo questions the responsibility of the press when addressing criminals, as well as politicians who encourage crime or derive from it, as is the case of Colombia’s new president, Gustavo Petro.
The forum, which touched on sensitive issues of hemispheric security, freedom of the press and governance, was attended by leading figures in the defense of freedom in the region, such as diplomat and former Secretary of State Thomas Shannon, columnist and analyst Héctor Schamis, Venezuelan criminal investigator and intelligence analyst Iván Simonovis, and investigative journalist Maibort Petit, among others.
Editor’s note: The quotes featured in this article were translated from Spanish to English and edited for publication.
Tomás Lugo, journalist and writer. Born in Venezuela and graduated in Social Communication. Has written for international media outlets. Currently living in Colombia // Tomás Lugo, periodista y articulista. Nacido en Venezuela y graduado en Comunicación Social. Ha escrito para medios internacionales. Actualmente reside en Colombia.