Colombia: journalism under the microscope of the masters

As part of the celebration of its tenth anniversary, the Ibero-American New Journalism Foundation (FNPI), with the support of Cemex, is holding the conference Where is journalism headed? The masters respond, on June 28 in the Fabio Lozano Auditorium of the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogota, Colombia.

The event will take place with the presence of eight world renowned journalists: Alma Guillermoprieto (Mexico); Daniel Santoro and Tomás Eloy Martínez (Argentina); Javier Darío Restrepo (Colombia); Jean-François Fogel (France); Joaquín Estefanía (Spain), and Jon Lee Anderson and Sergio Muñoz (United States), who will give different points of view on journalism now and in the future.

The topics to be addressed during the conference include the crisis of journalism in the West, the challenges for the world press, political culture and corruption in Latin America, the media war, the Internet as catalyst of all the changes, and the new role of the reporter, with the aim of analyzing the transcendence, evolution and possible improvements in the practice of journalism in Latin America.

The Foundation was set up in 1994 on the initiative of the Colombian journalist and writer Gabriel García Márquez, Nobel Laureate for Literature 1982, based on his wish to share experiences and stimulate the vocation of young reporters, and his conviction that the most efficient method of learning is through practical and participative workshops where experienced instructors discuss the carpentry of the profession with the students, stimulating debate, innovation, the ethics of reporting, and improving the media.

The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) and the FNPI signed in Monterey, Mexico, in September 2003 an agreement to promote a positive transformation in the practice of journalism in the region through specific programs of analysis and the business and professional training of journalists in Latin America.

CAF President & CEO Enrique García said that the strategic alliance of the Corporation with the Ibero-American New Journalism Foundation (FNPI) was promoting a positive transformation in the business and professional practices of Latin American journalism, offering opportunities for training and exchange for the professional development of this discipline.