The stories of migrants from the American continent who seek a better life in the northern countries were the protagonists of the VI Meeting of Ibero-American Journalism of elDiario.es, in which themes such as real and virtual violence against women journalists, the “discomfort” in the face of Spanish colonialism or the difficulty of financing alternative means
The VI Meeting of Ibero-American Journalism of elDiario.es began with the screening of the short film “The Damned Darién”, held this Thursday at the Casa de América in Madrid on the theme Roots and destinies – Stories of migrants of Ibero-American origin. America. Veteran journalist Jon Lee Anderson, whose BOOM platform produced the work, then spoke with the director of elDiario.es, Ignacio Escolar, with whom he shared the sensation of “nightmare” and “terror” which inspires the work, which shows the very harsh conditions suffered by migrants – more than 300,000 in 2023 – who cross this blockage of roads to the north between Colombia and Panama, fleeing violence and poverty.
The interview gave rise to the first discussion table of the afternoon, “Spain-Mexico”. We must speak”, which addressed the relationship between the former metropolis and the colony today, starting from the episode that occurred with the request of the former Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, that the Spanish crown apologize for her 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 stressed that the media debate, relaunched 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 common memory” that revises the role. of the conquest and which, according to him, still generates “unease” in Spanish society, and not only in its most right-wing sectors.
Truax focused on the different “colonial tendencies” from which Mexico suffers, which also include the unequal relations with the American neighbor and the extractivist economic logic, which also has Spanish expressions. The different aspects of identity of a mixed-race society, 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 views on both sides of the Atlantic were also evident in the second panel, which dealt with “Aggressions against female journalists on social networks”, moderated by the editor-in-chief of Gender on elDiario.es, Ana Requena. Present were Luciana Peker, Argentinian activist and writer specializing in gender; Catalina Ruiz Navarro, journalist and editor-in-chief of the Latin American feminist magazine Volcánicas en México y Colombia, and Macarena Baena Garrido, also journalist and director of Efeminista. It appeared that the risk of digital harassment turning into real physical violence is real and underestimated. “We are in the age of powerlessness,” warned Pekerman, who pointed out that there are studies that indicate that 80% of journalists have limited their participation in social networks, and that women receive up to three times threats on the Internet. more than men.
“Digital violence becomes terrestrial in the ‘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, they constituted a means of communication making it possible to overcome barriers to access to the profession, beyond editorial controls traditional, while the insult, in this first stage, was perceived as a sign of professional success. This impression disappears when we receive, as in his case, a photograph with a weapon and his name written by hand on the networks. Feminist women were already victims of the current aggressiveness of social networks a decade ago, she recalled.
Complex financial horizons
The recurring question of how to financially support the media in a context of permanent instability was the theme of the third panel, moderated by the editor-in-chief of the magazine elDiario.es and professor of the Gabo Foundation, Gumersindo Lafuente. There is no easy recipe, as pointed out 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 . Initial success is not enough either, because it is necessary to resist challenges such as the persecution of people identified by journalistic investigations, as explained by Catalina Ruiz, who during her career had to face the end of successive projects.
At the same table, Carolina Guerrero gave the example of a successful and long-lasting initiative like Radio Ambulante, of which she is the founder, which has a well-established team in several countries and is based in New York. The other founder, executive producer and presenter, Daniel Alarcón, spoke 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 explains, simplistic narratives – such as attributing Latin Americans’ support for Donald Trump to simple ignorance – and emphasizes the importance of “being relevant in the lives of listeners”, by offering them stories and stories that influence their daily lives. .
The day ended 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 internationally.
