Skip to content
January 31, 2023
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • TikTok
  • LinkedIn
  • Discord
Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond

Orinoco Tribune – News and opinion pieces about Venezuela and beyond

From Venezuela and made by Venezuelan Chavistas

Primary Menu
  • News
  • Opinion
  • About us
    • About us
    • Who we are – Becoming a Volunteer
    • Editorial guidelines for contributors
    • Our Sources
      • Venezuelan Sources
      • International Sources
    • Contact us
  • Categories
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Security and Defense
    • International
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Europe
      • Oceania
      • US/Canada
    • Latin America and ALBA-TCP
      • South America
      • Central America and the Caribbean (+Mexico)
    • Ideology-Commune-Labor
    • Health-Education-Sport-Culture-Technology
    • Solidarity and Social Movements
    • OT Specials
  • Support Us
Light/Dark Button
YouTube Channel
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • Why Your Country’s Media Only Half Informs You About Colombia
  • Latin America and ALBA-TCP
  • Opinion
  • South America

Why Your Country’s Media Only Half Informs You About Colombia

November 14, 2020

By Adriaan Alsema – Nov 12, 2020

The undermining of Colombia’s peace process and President Ivan Duque‘s ties to the mafia are arguably the country’s most important news items, yet foreign reporting on this is scarce.

This is largely because of bias, not the political kind that’s often assumed, but geographical and not necessarily bad.

National media are primarily supposed to inform you on what affects you, not people on the other side of the world.

In order to serve their respective communities, US media on Wednesday reported on the aftermath of the elections, Icelandic media on life-threatening negligence in Arnaholt and Japanese media on a coronavirus outbreak in Hokkaido.

I didn’t even know Hokkaido was an island, that Arnaholt was a refugee center and that the US never had a female VP. Colombian media never report on stuff like this.

This is not because the media have an anti-Japanese, anti-Icelandic or anti-American bias, but because their duty is to inform the people in Colombia on what affects us or because I’m not interested in these issues.

RELATED CONTENT: Colombia and the United States Carried Out Joint Military Exercises on Sunday

This geographical bias has virtue, but the “mainstream news” industry isn’t perfect and doesn’t always inform you on matters you personally are interested in.

Many news media are companies who — like any company — would like to make a profit. The big problem with a lot of media’s business model is that it’s not based on what matters to you, but their advertisers.

This is why media report on sports or other forms of entertainment, and even publish horoscopes, they sell audiences.

Even though you should know how your government is spending your taxes on counternarcotics in Colombia, your media may prioritize a nipple slip of Nicki Minaj, especially is the nipple slip is “unique content,” a.k.a. a scoop.

Scoops may be frivolous, but it’s free advertising that increases a news outlet’s audience, the commodity sold to advertisers.

The DEA undermining our peace process and Duque’s ties to the mafia are hugely significant in Colombia, but news like this barely ever crosses the border.

Most importantly, most people in your country wouldn’t care about these issues because they have their own concerns and because these stories are largely broken by local media, so for foreign media there’s no scoop.

RELATED CONTENT: Colombia Doubles Down on Trying to Make President’s Narco Ties go Away

This doesn’t mean that the coronavirus outbreak in Hokkaido is not important in Japan or the stuff Colombia Reports covers doesn’t matter in our corner of the world, it just means that editors in Tokyo or Bogota take different decisions than those in your country.

This is why websites like Colombia Reports exist. Because niche websites don’t depend on advertising but reader contributions, we can cover issues ignored by foreign media.

A website like Colombia Reports doesn’t consider whether a story is significant in your country, but whether it’s significant here. This is the bias you perceive.

It’s easy to perceive this as political bias, but it isn’t. It’s geographical. How can I have any kind of political bias relevant to your country if I don’t even know where you are and have probably never been there? I only know I am in Colombia.

I have to report on “peasants” engaging in what Americans call “sharecropping,” words that don’t even exist in my native language for all I know and I assume aren’t exactly the latest slang wherever you’re at.

Journalists working for the so-called “mainstream media” have the duty to inform you on issues that matter to your society. They cannot and should not report on what matters to Colombia. I do.

I could not say what matters to you, your community or your country, but I have quite a good idea what matters here. My duty is to report on that.

I believe the existence of both is extremely valuable, especially when there’s a conflict, for example between US foreign policy and Colombia’s peace process.

Me reporting on Colombian resistance, doesn’t mean I am promoting this or even promoting concessions. I’m just reporting on what I am seeing or hearing on my end of the debate.

Whatever conclusion you draw or opinion you form is your business.

 

(Colombia Reports)

Want More?

Don't want to be a victim of the Algorithm?

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER WITH ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VENEZUELA

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Orinoco Tribune 2
+ posts
  • Orinoco Tribune 2
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/yullma/
    Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces during a protest against the siege of the village of Beita by the Israeli army, near the West Bank city of Nablus, on January 28, 2023. Photo: Mohammed Nasser/APA images.
    January 31, 2023
    Israeli Government Calls for Retribution and Collective Punishment in Wake of Jerusalem Shooting
  • Orinoco Tribune 2
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/yullma/
    Aftermath of the Ukrainian missile strike on a hospital in the city of Novoaydar on January 28, 2023. Photo: Sputnik.
    January 31, 2023
    14 Dead, 24 Injured in Ukrainian Strike on Civilian Hospital – Russian Mod
  • Orinoco Tribune 2
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/yullma/
    “Behind The Headlines” host Lee Camp speaks to Omali Yeshitela. Photo: MintPress News.
    January 31, 2023
    Raided by the FBI for Being Socialist, With Omali Yeshitela
  • Orinoco Tribune 2
    https://orinocotribune.com/author/yullma/
    Chief of Russian Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Force Igor Kirillov. Photo: TASS.
    January 30, 2023
    20,000 Docs Obtained by Russia Expose US Biowarfare Program in Ukraine
Tags: Colombia Ivan Duque journalism Mafia media

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Continue Reading

Previous Previous post:

Venezuela Congratulates the People of Belize for their Successful Election Day

Belice and Venezuela communique President Maduro
Next Next post:

IN PHOTOS: This Thursday President Maduro Inaugurated the 16th International Book Fair of Venezuela (FILVEN 2020)

FILVEN 2020 International Book Fair Venezuela

Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter

We keep your data private and share your data only with third parties that make this service possible. Read our Privacy Policy.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

NEWS: Most Viewed 72 Hours

Calendar

January 2023
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Dec    

Categories

OPINION: Most Viewed 72 hours

We are on Telegram


Receive our news directly in your cellphone or PC, join us on our TELEGRAM channel: https://t.me/OrinocoTribune1

 

Download TELEGRAM, click the link above and then press the JOIN button.

We are on Discord


Now we are also on Discord you will be able to follow our every move and interact with our team.

Join us by clicking here



All our work is free to use and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

We are on Reddit

If you are more into REDDIT, join our Orinoco Tribune Community.

 

Just click below and then click JOIN
https://www.reddit.com/r/OrinocoTribune/

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • Telegram
  • TikTok
  • LinkedIn
  • Discord
Copyleft, No rights reserved.