The narratives of migrants from the American continent who seek a better life in northern countries were protagonists in the VI Meeting of Ibero-American Journalism of elDiario.es, in which topics such as real and virtual violence against female journalists, the ” discomfort” in the face of Spanish colonialism or the difficulty in financing alternative means
The VI Meeting of Ibero-American Journalism of elDiario.es has kicked off with the screening of the short film ‘The Damned Darién’, held this Thursday at the Casa de América in Madrid with the theme Roots and Destinies – Migrant Narratives from Ibero-America. Veteran journalist Jon Lee Anderson, whose BOOM platform produced the work, next spoke with the director of elDiario.es, Ignacio Escolar, with whom he shared the sensation of “nightmare” and “terror” that inspires the piece, which shows the very harsh conditions suffered by migrants – more than 300,000 in 2023 – who cross this blockage of the routes to the north between Colombia and Panama, escaping violence and poverty.
The interview gave way to the first of the afternoon’s discussion tables, ‘Spain-Mexico. We have to talk’, which addressed the relationship between the former metropolis and colony today, based on the episode that arose with the request of the former Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, that the Spanish crown apologize for its role in the conquest of the country. The Mexican journalist Eileen Truax and the political scientist from the Complutense University Jorge Resina participated, with the moderation of the deputy director of elDiario.es Natalia Chientaroli. Resina pointed out that the media debate, revived with the inauguration of the new president of the American country, Claudia Sheinbaum, did not seek a spectacular confrontation, but rather wanted to be an attempt to “build a joint memory” that reviews the role of the conquest and that, in his opinion, still generates “discomfort” in Spanish society, and not only in its most right-wing sectors.
Truax focused on the various “colonial streaks” that Mexico suffers, which also includes the unequal relationship with the American neighbor and the extractivist economic logic, which also has Spanish expressions. The various identity aspects of a society that is mestizo, the deep imprint of the Church and the possibility or not of giving new meaning to the date of October 12 were other aspects discussed.
Virtual and real violence against journalists
The differences in perspectives on both sides of the Atlantic were also evident in the second panel, which dealt with ‘Assaults on female journalists on social networks’, moderated by the editor-in-chief of Gender at elDiario.es, Ana Requena. Participating were Luciana Peker, Argentine activist and writer specialized in gender; Catalina Ruiz Navarro, journalist and editor of the Latin American feminist magazine Volcánicas en México y Colombia, and Macarena Baena Garrido, also journalist and director of Efeminista. It emerged that the risk of digital bullying turning into actual physical violence is real and under-recognized. “We are in the era of disempowerment,” warned Pekerman, who pointed out that there are studies that indicate that 80% of journalists have limited their participation in social networks, added to the fact that women receive threats on the Internet up to three times more. than men.
“Digital violence becomes terrestrial in ‘zero coma’,” said Baena, who perceives a lack of support for journalists specializing in gender in the editorial offices of the media in which they work. Ruiz Navarro drew attention to the “paradoxical” nature of exposure to social networks: initially it provided a means of communication that allowed the barriers to access to the profession to be overcome, beyond traditional editorial controls, while the insult, in That initial stage was perceived as a sign of professional success. This impression disappears when receiving, as in his case, a photograph with a weapon and his name written by hand on networks. Feminist women were already victims of the current aggressiveness of social networks a decade ago, she recalled.
The complex financial horizons
The recurring question of how to financially support the media in a context of permanent instability was the topic of the third panel, moderated by the editor of the elDiario.es magazine and teacher of the Gabo foundation, Gumersindo Lafuente. There is no easy recipe, as made clear by Jordy Meléndez, Mexican journalist who created Factual, Red Latam and Distintas Latitudes, who explained that he does not propose projects with a horizon of more than two years. Nor is initial success enough, since it is necessary to resist challenges such as the persecution of those identified by journalistic investigations, as explained by Catalina Ruiz, who in her career has had to face the end of successive projects.
At the same table, Carolina Guerrero gave an example of a successful and long-lived initiative such as Radio Ambulante, of which she is the founder, and which has a well-established team in several countries and is based in New York. The other founder, executive producer and presenter, Daniel Alarcón, chatted with Juanlu Sánchez, deputy director of elDiario.es and director of the podcast ‘Un tema Al día’, with whom he discussed the origin and present of the successful program. This avoids, as Alarcón explained, simplistic stories – such as attributing the support of Latin Americans to Donald Trump merely to ignorance – and highlights the importance of “being relevant in the lives of listeners”, providing stories and stories that influence in your daily life.
The day closed with the intervention of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, with a speech in which he focused on the proliferation of fake news and the need to combat it on an international scale.
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