The dismissal of an online journalist in Colombia for writing an opinion column about the public relations practices of a Canadian oil company, as Clases de Periodismo reported, sparked outcry and reignited the debate about the influence of publicity on news coverage.
On Oct. 11, journalist Daniel Pardo wrote the column "Pacific is Colombia" for the online magazine Kien&Ke about the public relations campaign the Canadian oil company Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp was waging to "change the tone" of the news. Pardo criticized the news coverage of the company as "publicity-reports paid for by the company and presented as journalism."
In his column, Pardo addressed the case of the radio broadcaster La W and the director of the program Primera Página, Hector Mario Rodríguez, who was sued by the oil company after reporting on allegedly inflated figures. According to Pardo, Rodríguez told him the oil company undercut his allegations with public relations broadcasts on the station.
On Oct. 19, Pardo received an email from then-director of the publication, María Elvira Bonilla, informing him of his termination, according to RCN Radio. After the public outcry over the journalist's firing, the publication released its own version of the story, explaining that the dismissal was over evidence they requested from Pardo regarding Rodríguez's claims but never received.
The journalist told the newspaper El Colombiano that it was "an excuse to fire me" since the publication had only allowed eight hours to pass between their request and firing him. Eventually, the evidence was published by other media. The affair culminated with Bonilla's resignation from the magazine.
The Colombian Federation of Journalists (FECOLPER in Spanish) said the event was an important opportunity to reflect on the impact of advertising spending in the media. However, the group pointed out that the case gained traction because of the prominent figures involved. Daniel Pardo is the son of an ex-minister who is currently the director of one of the most important media companies in Colombia.
FECOLPER said it was important to analyze these situations when businesses exert greater influence on the media. The group lamented that sometimes economic interests outweigh the actual practice of journalism.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
