Colombia Reports

Colombia Reports is a Colombian news website in English, founded in 2008 by Dutch journalist Adriaan Alsema and headquartered in Medellín [2]. The organization claims to be independent and not affiliated with any political or social organization;[3].

Colombia Reports
Type of site
News
Available inEnglish
Founded2008
Headquarters
Medellín
,
Colombia
Founder(s)Adriaan Alsema
Key peopleAdriaan Alsema, Editor-in-Chief
Jenifer Rivera, coordinator
Employees<10
URLcolombiareports.com
Alexa rank 138,991 (July 2020)[1]
AdvertisingYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched2008
Current statusActive

The site started "as a weblog just to bring Colombian news in English in a way it wasn’t being brought."[4] Alsema claimed in a 2009 interview that "even though Colombia is one of the most important countries for U.S. foreign policy in Latin America, the information available to those that don’t speak Spanish was very limited."

On February 26, 2014, Colombia Reports received angel funding from GITP Ventures[5] in order to more aggressively expand the company's offerings in the marketplace.[6] GITP Ventures and Colombia Reports parted ways on February 9, 2016, with Alsema stating in an editorial "that running a news website almost automatically creates conflicts with the economic interests of investors".[7]

The website switched to a voluntary reader contribution model on May 17, 2017, in order to finance the website.[8]

Controversies

Colombia Reports has never shied away from controversy, including editorials by Alsema about sex in Colombia[9] and interviews by staff with Colombian sex tourists.[10]

In April 2015, Colombia Reports' editor-in-chief Adriaan Alsema published a series of articles claiming that between 2003 and 2007, US military personnel and contractors had sexually abused many Colombian children. By June 2015, it was discovered that the source for these articles was faulty and Alsema was forced to retract those stories, expressing regret that he "felt responsible for having spread an urban myth".[11]

Editorial Board


Alsema uses Crowd Sourcing for his Editorial Board, using a Facebook Page[12] where people can suggest edits. This ensures that the public assists in the fact-checking of the Articles as well as the fact that spelling errors are quickly updated.

Journalism in Colombia


Colombia Reports is among the few to not shy away from any controversies. Journalism in Colombia is full of risks, given that over 50 Journalists were murdered in the last 20 years[13]. Going against the ever-popular right-wing ex-president Uribe is very difficult. This is also experience by Daniel Mendoza, the creator of the popular Youtube Channel "Matarife", which depicts Uribe as a "slaughterer" and a violator of Human Rights[14].

Where Spanish Language News has largely shied away from publishing about Matarife, Colombia Reports has cited it in many of its articles and has also started an investigation into Corruption and Narco Influence in the Colombian Established Politics.

References
  1. "Colombiareports.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  2. https://www.facebook.com/colombiareports/posts/10157097270812408?comment_id=10157097485162408&reply_comment_id=10157099028492408&notif_id=1575675175164723%7Cpublisher=Facebook%7Caccessdate=7 December 2019
  3. "About Colombia Reports". Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  4. Rodas, Albeiro (16 June 2009). "Colombia reports for Good-Looking Intellectuals". Colombia Passport. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  5. "Colombia Reports Raises Funding from GITP Ventures". 26 February 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  6. "GITP - Colombia Reports Announcement Party". 8 March 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  7. "Independent again, Colombia Reports celebrates 8th anniversary". 9 February 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  8. "Colombia Reports: a readers' handbook". 17 May 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  9. "Colombia and SEX". Colombia Reports. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  10. "The other side of the debate; Colombia's sex tourists get a say". Colombia Reports. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  11. "Worse Than Nothing". WYNC. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  12. "Colombia Reports | Editorial board". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  13. "Committee to Protect Journalists – Defending Journalists Worldwide". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  14. "Matarife - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-07-31.


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