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Obstacles to journalists' access to public information have increased in Colombia, survey shows

"The Foundation for Press Freedom and the Journalists' Circle of Bogota presented the 'Survey on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information' in which they surveyed 585 journalists and 15 columnists to study the characteristics of the media in which they work, their self-criticism, the environment for freedom of expression, and aggressions towards their work.

One of the main conclusions was that in terms of security, 29% of those surveyed said that the public order situation has affected their work, 24% said that they do not publish because of fear of aggressions and threats, and one out of five journalists have refrained from disseminating information due to pressure from armed groups and authorities.

Regarding self-criticism in the profession, Lucevin Gómez, vice-president of the Círculo de periodistas de Bogotá-CPB, said that it is necessary to 'start looking at where we are failing. The problem is not that this information be published, the problem is that by not saying in a transparent way that there is a political or commercial interest behind what is being reported."

Read original story (in Spanish)