The media representation of the Special Justice for Peace JEP in the Colombian digital media: justice, truth and reparation from the media perspective

Abstract

The Court of the Special Justice for Peace JEP is where the most relevant legal-political processes arrive in Colombia's transition from armed conflict to peace. Different social, political, and economic sectors, including the media, have supported and questioned the JEP, which has been critical and skeptical of its processes. The Media Observatory of the University of La Sabana analyzed 530 news stories published by 15 reference media on their Facebook profiles and web portals, seeking to determine the process of public agenda construction and the frames of interpretation about the actions and decisions of the JEP. The research employed a mixed content analysis methodology. Initially, information was collected from a "first screen"on Facebook using the CrowdTangle platform. The news stories were published between January 1 and July 28, 2021. Subsequently, a descriptive and correlational statistical analysis with SPSS was carried out. A tendency to orient transitional justice processes towards the value of criminal justice is identified, leaving the values of truth, reparation, and non-repetition in the background. This is added to an inclination to focus all the analysis on the consequences of the JEP's decisions, their legitimacy, and legality, leaving aside the problematization, causality, and perspective of the solution to the conflict. © 2024 (Penagos-Carreño, Cárdenas Ruiz).