The Foundation for the Freedom of the Press, the firm Cifras y Conceptos and the Circle of Journalists of Bogotá presented the results of the National Survey of Freedom of Expression and Access to Informationwhich draws an overview of the reality of Colombian journalism.
According to an initial analysis, journalists in Colombia have a high educational preparationbut they earn little. Access to information and the environment for freedom of expression have not improved over time and defamation by leaders and officials against these professionals has grown.
Likewise, it was highlighted that one of the most serious errors of journalism is to publish information for political interests or commercials and use misleading headlines “The advertisement became an instrument of information pressure”.
Another fact to highlight is how the journalism sector is integrated in Colombia today. According to the initial analysis, 71% of journalists are men; 43% have a university degree and 40% have postgraduate training, “but they still earn little.” He 13% of journalists earn the minimum wage or less and In order to survive economically in that job, 61% receive other additional income.
In the last years, it has been warned that access to public information has not improved and attacks against freedom of expression have not diminished. Attacks against editors increased from 12 to 16 percent. And between 2016 and 2023, defamation, the stigma of journalists by officials and leaders rose from 27 to 37 percent.
On the other hand, the newsrooms presented novelties such as the incorporation of the information verifier (63%) to control false or misleading newsand a large percentage of journalists (62%) use strategic silence as a formula to deal with misinformation.
Other data from the National Survey on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information revealed serious aspects that are being committed in Colombian journalism:
- Publish information for political or commercial interests: 42%.
- Bad practices in which some journalists are incurring, such as modifying editorial positions for an advertising guideline: 48%.
- The activism exercised simultaneously with that job has affected the credibility of the media and journalists, according to 68% of those consulted.
The questionnaire was applied by the firm Cifras y Concepto to 585 journalists, including directors, editors, editors, union managers and columnists from different regions of the national territory.
Based on the results of the survey carried out, in journalism 71% of professionals are men, 24% are women and The remaining 5% preferred not to answer or said they did not identify with any of these gendersreflecting the diversity that exists in newsrooms.
In addition, 50% of journalists are between 36 and 45 years of age and 21% between 18 and 35 years of age. He 58% of these professionals work full time and 41% part time.
From the educational point of view, Colombian journalists today have a high education, 43% have a university degree, 40% postgraduate and 12% are technologists or technicians. The professionals with the highest academic level work in Bogotá (51%) and in the Coffee Axis (44%).
In terms of hiring, 35% of journalists have a payroll contract, 26% for the provision of services (this is more important in the Pacific, Eastern and Central-South regions), 16% do it voluntarily (without payment), 10% accrues as freelancing and 10% work for advertising guidelines or quotas.
45% of journalists earn less than $3 million per month. Of these, 13% are paid minimum wage or less. More women (18%) earn less than the minimum wage, compared to men (11%). There is only 21% of respondents who earn more than $5 million and this income is earned by more men (22%) than women (18%).
61% of journalists receive other additional income, taking into account that many of them they have very low salaries or it is not enough for them to survive economically.
The analysis of the results of the survey carried out on 585 journalists, including directors, editors, editors, union managers and columnists from different regions of the national territory, can be detailed below:
