A group of Colombian activists call for a boycott of two of Colombia’s main media outlets, El Tiempo and RCN, as the consumption of their news “affects mental and emotional development, clouds vision, produces amnesia and distorts reality.”
The boycott follows a decision by newspaper El Tiempo to sack a columnist who had been critical of the paper’s editorial independence. The dismissal sparked controversy in Colombia over the newspaper’s alleged hindering of the freedom of speech.
According to the activists, El Tiempo does not “respect the norms of journalism, ethical codes and the duty to be independent, objective and serve the public which should be the primary objective of all media.”
RCN, the group says on its Facebook page, is irresponsably managing information, exsessively polarizing, completely biased and utterly lacking objectivity and clarity and decontextualizing information.
The independence of the newsrooms of both El Tiempo and RCN have long been doubted by media critics. El Tiempo editor Enrique Santos is the brother of former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos and cousin of vice-President Francisco Santos. RCN boss Carlos Ardila Lulle is one of Colombia’s most powerful businessmen with interests in the country’s soft drink, agricultural, financial and sports industries.