Experiencias de investigación del oriente colombiano: “comunicación desde los territorios”

Abstract

Press freedom and the practice of journalism in Colombia have historically been shaped by tensions between political power, public order, and the transformations of the State. This article presents a historical and normative overview of the relationship between journalism and Colombian legislation from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first century, aiming to analyze how different state models and political contexts have influenced the regulation of the press. Methodologically, the study is based on a qualitative and descriptive historiographical review supported by the analysis of primary and secondary sources, particularly constitutions, laws, decrees, and historical studies on Colombian journalism. The findings show that although press freedom has been formally recognized in various constitutional texts, its exercise has undergone cycles of expansion and restriction associated with political conflicts, civil wars, authoritarian regimes, and public order crises. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, several mechanisms of state control were consolidated, including censorship, criminal sanctions, and administrative restrictions on journalistic practice. Nevertheless, the 1991 Constitution and subsequent Constitutional Court jurisprudence significantly strengthened the guarantees of freedom of expression and access to information. The article concludes that press freedom in Colombia is the result of a historically conflictive process in which current legal achievements coexist with political tensions and contemporary challenges arising from the transformation of the media system.