Abstract:
At the outset of 2010, at least 30 Ombudsmen experiences were in operation in the Latin American media, not only in newspapers but also in audiovisual media, especially in those of public management. The task of the News Ombudsmen or Defenders in the region is complex, in view of the economic difficulties with which the media are faced, journalists’ resistance to self-criticism, and meager participation by the public. There is a need for wider dissemination of information on these cases and for progress toward some kind of regional organization that will permit a sharing of experiences.
When describing the current status of the Ombudsman (also called Defender, Ouvidor, or Mediator) in the Latin American press, a number of researchers concur that this is a process that is still in its development stage.
Susana Herrera Damas and Rosa Zeta de Pozo (2005) agree with Zaira Sánchez Piña (1999) in pointing out that the introduction of this form of self-regulation in the regional media has been “recent.” It is necessary to recall that – though the first case occurred in 1989 in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paolo – it was only in the 1990s that “the institution began to spread and become widely known” in other countries.
Gerardo Albarrán de Alba (2002), for his part, comparing the rise of this institution in the U.S. and European media with its presence in the Latin American media, concludes that “its appearance has been late” in the latter. Germán Rey (2003) also points to the “few years” that have elapsed since 1989, which in his view means that the Ombudsmen in the region must cope with a “new occupation” that is still “under construction.”
From 1989 to the present there have been Ombudsman experiences in nearly all the South American countries and some of the Central American countries (See Appendix). However, they have not been free of difficulties, arising for economic reasons1, conflicts with the journalists or media executives2, and meager participation by the public3, which in some cases have resulted in the termination of the Ombudsman positions.
The journalistic companies in the region were influenced by what the Spanish newspaper El País did in this respect at the time these experiences began to take root. That newspaper’s Press Ombudsman (in operation since 1985), and the Bylaw that regulates his performance, have been a major source of inspiration for the local media.
A look at the media’s motives for introducing this self-regulation institution shows that the declared objectives focus on improving the channels of communication between the public and the journalists. But as Albarrán de Alba (2002) points out, in actual fact “the scope of the Latin American press ombudsman has a different accent”: sometimes “the development of an ethical awareness in news writing” or “an entrepreneurial will to change” is cited. In other cases, this is just “an internal control tool” or a mere “appearance” undertaken to attract readers.
The public’s participation, for its part, and its awareness that information is also a human right that should be exercised, is described as an aspect on which work still needs to be done. In this respect, Rey (2006) clearly points out that “the participation of civil society, the processes of transparency, and the activities of accountability are still precarious” in Latin America. A similar observation is made by Caio Tulio Costa (2006: 11), the first Ombudsman at the Brazilian newspaper Folha, who has said in reference to his experience that he had to “introduce a citizen service in a country where citizenry is not a full-scale idea, it is a diffuse desire and a distant prospect.”
The foreign character of this institution appears to add still another difficulty for its establishment in the region. At least, it is so interpreted by the former Ombudsman of the Spanish newspaper El País, José Miguel Larraya (Ortiz, 2009: 80), when he comments on the differences between the type of society in which the Ombudsman came into existence and the societies of Latin roots. In this respect, he asserts that “the institution of the Ombudsman reflects an Anglo-Saxon mindset.” That is why he considers that “if there is a certain skepticism about functions of this kind in the Latin societies, it is to a certain extent reasonable.”
Moreover, there is some difficulty in determining how many Ombudsmen are actually active in the Latin American press. In a survey conducted for the Master’s Degree in Journalism program at the Universidad de Buenos Aires
(UBA), it was found that at least 30 Ombudsmen were active in 2010, in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela (Pauwels, 2010).
However, the absence of a regional organization and the small number of Latin American Ombudsmen who belong to the Organization of News Ombudsmen (ONO) makes it difficult to specify a more accurate figure. There are attempts to advance toward some kind of regional exchange among those who play this role, though for the time being there are no formal organizations. One of these initiatives is the one being promoted by Lucio Segovia, the former Press Ombudsman of the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional, who created a virtual group so that his colleagues in different countries could send in their articles, share information, and debate issues related to the activity.
As for the ONO, Albarrán de Alba (2002) makes reference to the “ignorance” regarding that international organization among the “majority” of the Latin American Ombudsmen. This fact has also been noted by the Brazilians affiliated with Folha. Junia Nogueira, the first woman to hold a position of this kind at that newspaper, pointed out that the ONO struck her as “a distant entity” (Costa, 2006: 258). Her colleague Marcelo Beraba, for his part, remarked on “the strong influence of the U.S. newspapers” over the organization, and the need to “redefine their course and expand their membership to Europe and Latin America” (Costa, 2006: 279).
In a similar vein, the Ombudsman of TV4 of Sweden, Janne Andersson (2009), warned at the ONO conference in Washington in 2009 of the “domination” of U.S. Ombudsmen in the organization and of how “all the procedures, debates, and presentations are made in English.” In this respect, she mentioned that “French, Spanish, and Portuguese” colleagues “should be invited” to “affiliate with” the ONO.
These suggestions did not go unnoticed by the Organization, which after its annual conference of 2010 announced that “one of its next steps” would be to incorporate material in “French, Spanish, and Chinese” into its website (Dvorkin, 2010).
Now, then, what is it like to be an Ombudsman or Defender in Latin America? And what innovations have taken place in the last few years?
Germán Rey (2006), the former Press Ombudsman at the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, describes the task of those who so act in the region as “complex.” To illustrate, he points out that when he held that position he received “letters from paramilitaries, drug traffickers, paid killers, and corrupt politicians, protesting information which was true in most cases but was inimical to their criminal interests.”
As far as the profile of Latin American Ombudsmen is concerned, two studies coincide in finding that, though there are “common dimensions,” “differences” can be observed in the ways of going about the work.
The New Iberoamerican Journalism Foundation (FNPI) organized the First International Press Ombudsman Seminar in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2002. Those who held positions of that kind at the time cited as similarities their work of “mediation,” the necessary “autonomous nature of the position,” the “temporary limitations” in the performance of their functions, and “work with the people’s demands.” The divergences related chiefly to the “distance” or “proximity” that each Ombudsman maintained with the journalists in his medium (Rey, 2003).
The research done by Herrera Damas and Zeta de Pozo (2005), for its part, also reached the conclusion that, though the Public Ombudsmen in Latin America reflect “a variety of forms,” they have similar objectives: “promotion of self-criticism, internal dialog, and respect for professional ethics.”
As regards innovation, the appearance of Ombudsman experiences in the audiovisual media, and especially those of a public character, during the first decade of the 21st century appears as a significant event. This is demonstrated by the cases of Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Colombia4, though with varying outcomes, since some have been no more than short-lived attempts.
Another novelty is the appearance of Ombudsmen responsible exclusively for two websites (UOL and IG) in Brazil starting in 2007; as a result, that country continues to be in the lead in this field.
Certain Ombudsmen in particular also deserve recognition for taking initiatives that might be a source of inspiration for other such experiences:
For example, the Mexican newspaper Público of Guadalajara stands out for its form of choosing its Ombudsman, who can be nominated not only by the editorial boards or the members of the writing staff but also “by any reader interested in the process5.”
In some cases, the public’s participation is formalized through boards whose activity complements that of the Ombudsmen. This is the case at such Brazilian media outlets as the O Povo newspaper and Empresa Brasil de Comunicación (EBC).
Other Ombudsmen stand out for their promotion of activities or “services” that include workshops open to the community, encounters between students and journalists, visits to media facilities, and even the possibility of observing editorial board meetings. The Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional and Tabasco Hoy of Mexico are prominent in this respect.
Neither should the attempts of a number of universities to equip their own media with an Ombudsman be neglected. This is a way to instill the importance of self-regulation among the students. There are, or have been, experiences of this kind in Mexico (Universidad de Guadalajara6), Colombia (Universidad de Antioquia7), and Brazil (Universidad Católica de Santos, Universidad de Brasilia, and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Minas/Arcos8).
At the same time, some Ombudsmen have begun to explore other ways to be in contact with audiences and journalists, above and beyond the information that may be published on their own websites (Pauwels, 2006). Some, such as Radio Educación of Mexico and Teleantioquia of Colombia, have their own Facebook “profiles,” from which they ask their followers for suggestions and proposals. Canal 22 of Mexico, for its part, uploads the videos of the “Television Viewers’ Ombudsman” program to YouTube, and at El Colombiano of Medellín, Víctor Zuluaga Salazar has used the newspaper’s website to launch a “pedagogical project” aimed at journalists9.
Still another aspect remains to be highlighted. This is the common initiative of three regional governments (Argentina, Ecuador, and Bolivia)10 in proposing the creation of Ombudsman offices by law, in particular with powers over the audiovisual media. Though these initiatives diverge from the conception of Ombudsmen as a form of self-regulation by the press, they do
indicate the current attention to a debate on how the public can object to media content.
The “pedagogy of the Right to Information” is a higher purpose of the Ombudsmen’s work. It has been so explained by Javier Darío Restrepo (2003, March), who is not only an authority on the issue of journalistic ethics in the region, but also someone who is quite familiar with this work from the inside since he played the role of Ombudsman in Colombian media outlets on two occasions. This “pedagogy” must be addressed to two distinct targets: the public and the journalists themselves. In the Latin American context, this effort necessarily requires a collective effort.
That is why the Ombudsmen in the region need wider dissemination. To society as a whole, so the public can participate with its opinions and cease to be “a silent majority” (García Posada, 2007, January 7). To professionals, including the owners of the media and the journalists themselves, to elicit a commitment by the former group – as regard the Ombudsmen’s independence and autonomy – and the cooperation of the latter group, in the form of public response and correction of errors. To institutions, since it is necessary to combine efforts and create networks of cooperation with schools, universities, non-governmental organizations, industry groups, etc.
As far back as 1993, the Argentine magazine La Maga – the first to have an Ombudsman in that country – caricatured him as a kind of Superman: a man of stern mannerisms and firm posture who wore boots and a cape, and had an insignia with a large letter “O” on his chest. The Ombudsmen are surely a far cry from men imbued with such supernatural powers to single-handedly change the status quo in the media. They are still a minority in the Latin American media. However, their work demands our attention, because they are blazing one of the possible paths, though not the only one, along which the Right to Information can advance.
*Flavia Pauwels holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication Science from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina), and serves as a professor in that major. She has a post-graduate degree in Planning and Management of Journalistic Activity, and has also studied in that university’s Master’s Program in Journalism, in which she specialized in the institution of the Press Ombudsman or People’s Defender. For her master’s thesis, she has been in contact with Ombudsmen or former Ombudsmen from Argentina,
Brazil,
Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Panama, Spain, the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Denmark in the last five years.
Contact: flaviapauwels@hotmail.com
________________
NOTES
1 In 2007 IG Brasil created the Ombudsman position for its Internet portal. The person chosen to fill it was Mario Vitor Santos, who has extensive experience in functions of this kind since he held the same position at the Folha newspaper on two occasions. However, in early 2009 the company’s director told Santos that “the Ombudsman contract was not compatible with a new salary situation prevailing at IG” (2009, February 17). Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Núñez of the Mexican newspaper Público acknowledges that the economic crisis has had an across-the-board impact on the printed press, and an adverse effect on Ombudsmen’s work. When interviewed for this research, he pointed out that “journalism is experiencing a difficult time from an economic standpoint, which has resulted in massive staff cutbacks.” This situation means that “the Ombudsman’s recommendations are not easy to fulfill, since the reporters and editors do not have the time and resources needed to put out a better newspaper” (e-mail, 2009, December 12).
2 The tenure of Mário Magalhaes at the Brazilian newspaper Folha ended in controversy. This journalist left the position, which he had held for only a year (2007-2008), because he dissented from the Board, which had ordered him to stop publishing his Internal Criticism on the Internet; it had been freely accessible to any reader since 2000. In his last column, Magalhaes (2008, April 6) said that, for his appointment to be renewed the newspaper demanded “a regression in the transparency of his work,” on the grounds that “the competition” was taking advantage of the “ideas and suggestions” of Folha’s Ombudsman and putting them into practice at their own newspapers first. Magalhaes counterattacked, saying that, as a result, “the readers would lose a right” and that the Internal Criticism, now distributed only by e-mail to the leading journalists at Folha, could reach the competition just the same. At the same time, and on the subject of tense relations with journalists, examples of this are the experiences of two former Ombudsmen at the O Povo newspaper of Brazil. Adisía Sá was the victim of an assault in which acid was thrown over her car. She also received threats warning her that she would be run over, her vehicle would be set afire, or a bomb would explode in her building (Faria Mendes, 2003). Lira Neto, for his part, tells in his book (2000) of the reprisals taken against him by colleagues at the newspaper because he criticized those who work simultaneously as journalists and political or corporate communication advisers.
3 The complaint about the absence of complaints from the public appears often in the discourse of the Latin American representatives. Sebastián de la Nuez of Últimas Noticias of Venezuela stated: “I feel (the readers) are not critical enough … they do not see many subtleties that can result in a misunderstanding of a news report” (Pineda, 2006). Brazilian Débora Cronemberger of O Povo described the public’s participation as “very timid” (2002, January 5). A similar characterization was given by Víctor Zuluaga Salazar of El Colombiano (2008, January 7), who said that reader collaboration at that newspaper was “constant but meager.” At the La Época newspaper of Chile, according to researcher José Luis Santa María (2005) the Ombudsman experience was short-lived because of the absence of a “critical role” played by the readers. The main problem, he asserts, is that “people almost did not complain.” At the El Deber newspaper of Bolivia, Juan Javier Zeballos Gutiérrez had a similar experience. He recalls in this respect that his experience as Ombudsman has been “not very satisfying, due to the absence of a culture of complaint among the readers” (e-mail, December 12). Finally, on taking up the Ombudsman position at the El Nacional newspaper of Venezuela, Ronald Nava said he was “concerned,” because during his first week of work he had not received “a single call” from the readers (2007, May 25).
4 Colombia has the unique feature in the region of having been the first country to enact a law requiring the television channels to have a Television Viewer’s Ombudsman. In 1996, Law 335 provided in its Article 11 that private operators must “reserve 5% of their total programming for the presentation of public and social interest programs.” “One of those programs,” the law specified, “shall be given over to the Television Viewer’s
Ombudsman.” And in January 2007, the National Television Commission (CNTV) ordered in its Resolution 1, Article 7, that: “Profit-making private operators of open-broadcast television service with nationwide and local coverage, public operators with nationwide and local coverage, and holders of concessions for airtime on Canal Uno must allocate airtime to the Television Viewer’s Ombudsman.” As noted above, the law not only made an Ombudsman obligatory, but also required a television program for him at every channel, in its Article 8.
Some public and private audiovisual media in other countries of the region have also tried to put an Ombudsman function into operation. For example, Radio de la Ciudad in Argentina (Pauwels, 2005), Radio Universidad in Chile (Bersezio Pavez and Manosalva Rodríguez, 2006), TV Cultura and EBC in Brazil, Ecuavisa in Ecuador, and Canal Once, Cana 22, Radio Educación, and IMER in Mexico.
5 An example of the outreach that the Público newspaper makes to its readers, allowing them to suggest candidates for the ombudsman’s position, can be viewed at: http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8048308 (Consulted: 2009, December).
6 In March 2008, the Universidad de Guadalajara appointed Professor Enrique Sánchez Ruiz as Ombudsman with the responsibility to “see that the audiovisual productions (of open-broadcast television) and the programs produced and broadcast by the UdG Radio Network stations are made with high ethical standards, are not untruthful, and do not offend the public.” Sánchez Ruiz did not last long in the position and ended up resigning. The University then appointed José Luis Vázquez Baeza [and] Journalism School Director Carlos Septién García in June 2008. For more information: http://www.ombudsman.udg.mx/ (Consulted: 2009, December).
7 The credit for having been the first communication medium with a Press Ombudsman in Colombia goes to a university publication. It was in 1990 that the EntreVista newspaper, published by the Communication Faculty of the Universidad de Antioquia, appointed the experienced professor and journalist Juan José García Posada to perform that function. García Posada again served as Ombudsman at the El Colombiano newspaper of Medellín between 2004 and 2007.
8 This role was played by a professor at the newspaper of the Universidad Católica de Santos. At the publications of the Universidad de Brasilia and the Pontificia Universidad Católica, on the other hand, a student was chosen for the function. Brazilian researcher Jairo Faria Mendes (2003) pointed out that these experiences turned into “a great example for the Brazilian media.”
9 The project launched by the Ombudsman at El Colombiano, through the newspaper’s Intranet, is titled “Thinking About the Readers.” It is a virtual library with two hundred titles, dozens of dictionaries, links to sites of interest, and a repository of the columns of all the Ombudsmen who have held the position. These resources are available on every journalist’s computer (Zuluaga Salazar, 2009, April 13 and 20).
10 There was an initiative in Bolivia, promoted by the political party of President Evo Morales, in regard to the possibility of incorporating the Press, Television Viewers’, and Listeners’ Ombudsman position into the new constitution, but that initiative was not successful. According to Juan Javier Zeballos Gutiérrez, the former Press Ombudsman at the El Deber newspaper, “the Constituent Assembly ultimately approved nothing on the subject” (e-mail: 2009, December 14). In Ecuador, for its part, the initiative of creating the office of Public Ombudsman as part of a new communication law had been entrusted to the Legislative Administration Council in late 2009. More details are available at: http://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/files/Tema%20dia/info-Defensor-del-pueblo.jpg (Consulted: 2009, December). Finally, the Audiovisual Communication Services Act was approved in October 2009, providing, among other things, for the creation of the
“Public Ombudsman’s Office.” The full text of the law is accessible through: http://www.comfer.gov.ar/web/ley26522.pdf (Consulted: 2010, May).
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Link to original Spanish version
