Colombia: music has replaced news on national radio – what does the future hold for public service broadcasting

On 17 August, Inravisión the body responsible for managing Colombia's public radio and television services, sent orders via WhatsApp to managers of the public broadcaster, Radio Nacional de Colombia, to suspend all news reports, bulletins, news programming and regional broadcasts "until further notice".

The suspension comes a few weeks after the election of the country's new far-right president, Abelardo de la Espriella, and is part of a reorganisation announced on 16 August by Alexandra Falla, Minister of Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC), and Angela Mora, director general of Inravisión. . The aim, they said, is to dismantle what they described as a "propaganda apparatus" and carry out a review of content and contracts.

On 22 August, the two bodies overseeing the national radio broadcaster (MinTIC and Inravisión) presented the findings of an ongoing investigation into contracts signed at Inravisión under the previous administration, relating to the payment of advertising and digital content during the election campaign. They also stated that Inravisión had requested the assistance of the Colombian Public Prosecutor's Office (Procuraduría General de la Nación) and the Office of the Comptroller General (Contraloría General de la República).

While it is up to these bodies to determine if there have been irregularities and establish any potential liability, this does not justify maintaining the suspension of news programmes. The following day, 23 August, the Ombudsman's Office, the institution responsible for defending human rights, called on MinTIC and Inravisión to urgently review the suspension and take the necessary measures to ensure the continuity of the 20 Emisoras de Paz.

Radio Nacional is broadcast on 74 frequencies, of which 20 are Emisoras de Paz, peace radio stations created in accordance with article 6.5 of the 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian state and the then-called "Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army" (FARC-EP). These public radio stations were set up in some of the regions hardest hit by the conflict to explain the agreement's key provisions to local communities and keep them informed about the progress of its implementation. According to a joint statement by the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) and the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), these news programmes reach more than 463,000 people.

On 21 August, Jessica Molano Vivas, the journalist in charge of the Emisora de Paz radio station in El Tambo, in the department of Cauca, said in an interview with Caracol Radio that she had reported on the situation of more than 1,000 residents who were unable to leave their communities in Cajibío (Cauca) because of security tensions between FARC dissidents and public security forces. But according to Vivas, this information was not broadcast. When contacted by RSF on 24 August, journalists from other Emisoras de Paz stations across the country also confirmed that the measure remained in effect and that their newsrooms were still not broadcasting news programmes or regional segments.