When Reporters Make the News: Narrated Role Performance During Colombia's Post-Conflict with the FARC Guerrilla Group 2

Based on a qualitative analysis of news articles published six years following the signing of the peace agreement with the FARC guerrilla group, this study examined the roles that emerged from journalists' narratives when their colleagues made the news. Specifically, we sought how they redefined and negotiated professional roles to survive Colombia’s complex and insecure environment.

Sample

We analyzed 1,462 news pieces and opinion texts regarding the Colombian conflict and peace process containing the word journalist(s), published between 2012 and 2018 in the four most visited digital news outlets: El Tiempo, El Espectador, Las2Orillas, and Pulzo.

Main Findings

The results of this analysis revealed four emerging roles: (1) resilient watchdog; (2) savvy expert; (3) crusader; (4) and community-embedded. The texts examined also revealed how journalists negotiated the agenda-building since reporters were forced to limit on-site newsgathering, consult multiple sources, self-censor, and deal with the differential working conditions of metropolitan and local journalists due to security risks.

---

This study contributes to role theory by focusing on narrated roles of an insecure democracy from an inductive approach. It further introduces an innovative perspective to boundary work theory since reporters’ boundaries have been challenged in new, often menacing ways due to the world’s longest-running internal conflict and transition to peace.