Werner Zitzmann: "Sustainability is the biggest challenge for the media in Colombia".

Do you think that the defense of freedom of expression and of the press has managed to consolidate as a priority issue in the public agenda and in the perception of the citizens?

Absolutely not.

In terms of the fight against disinformation, do you consider that the media have adopted effective strategies or are there still opportunities to improve their performance?

There are not only all the opportunities for improvement, but also the need and the obligation to channel all efforts to provide the most transparent information services and to increase the indicators of credibility and consumption of information from reliable sources. And to deserve that appellation, that of reliable sources, demonstrating why they are.

How do you assess the respect and protection of media intellectual property rights in your country? Are there any specific challenges in this area?

Precarious. Colombia is a country with high rates of piracy in general. Technology has facilitated this practice, and there is a great lag in terms of policies and resources aimed at counteracting this reality. However, the government copyright office is a very respectable entity, with international recognition and an outstanding academic management; but for the effective enforcement of the rules that protect copyrights, much more is required, in coordination with other executive, jurisdictional and police authorities. In addition to this, there are discussions about the payment of content by technological platforms, including today AI platforms, where only Google has some Showcase agreements for the payment of its alliances with media where it is questioned whether the recognized value is fair or not.

Compared to the period before the pandemic, do you consider that the media in your country have achieved an effective adaptation to the digital transformation? What have been the main advances or difficulties?

Undoubtedly there has been a very significant evolution that boosted the digital transformation processes. But to answer whether this adaptation has been effective or not, it would be necessary to define effectiveness. If it is in monetary terms, clearly not, since advertising investment in digital is still very low, let alone in terms of subscriptions or paywalls. And in terms of penetration and consumption of digital content, Colombia is still a country with insufficient levels of broadband coverage, let alone recurring users, since smartphones and devices, not to mention unlimited consumption plans, are a luxury for a minority of the population. In addition to the geographic areas without media -especially local- the only media to which there is access are open television, radio and newspapers. Therefore, in terms of effective digitalization, there is also a significant lag in the country that is not only attributable to the media and their own processes.

Given the growing fragmentation of audiences, do you think the media are implementing adequate strategies to attract and retain their audiences?

I do believe that the Colombian media have faced this challenge, worldwide, making their best efforts, even in adverse economic circumstances, to understand the phenomena and variables, to experiment with innovation, formats and alternative options. They have invested and worked hard on the subject. And in terms of audiences, especially quality audiences -recurring and taking their time with each visit-, the numbers are generally good. Another thing is that, as it happens in the rest of the world, the business models around these advances are not enough for the sustainability of the media, basically because of the displacement of advertising to the big technological platforms, which is perverse in view of the cost of technological and commercial experimentation, and the growth of the percentages of audiences who say they do not believe in the media or who get their information from other sources, which has political undertones and smear campaigns of all kinds, because the enemies of the press and journalism are not few.

This is not only attributable to the media and its own processes.

How do you evaluate the quality and professional training of journalists in your country, and do you think there are areas where substantial improvement is needed?

The academy has been many steps behind the technological reality and its social and cultural impact in the world of the last 30 years, as well as the social, economic and cultural transformations that are not so impacted by technology, but are enhanced by the dynamics and speed that technology itself and communication with technology has imposed on modern times. In the case of journalism, a science or social profession, very determined today for its exercise by technology, there are also gigantic challenges. In addition, young people are choosing less and less to study journalism, among other reasons due to the lack of jobs, given the economic situation of the industry. And in the case of practicing journalists, as always, there is a bit of everything, being also evident the fields of improvement in terms of quality and criteria for journalistic excellence and the provision of information services aimed at generating healthy debates, truthful, relevant and useful information.

In the context of competition with digital platforms, what strategies should the media adopt to strengthen their participation in the advertising market?

This is a very complex question and recommendation. But the media face a reality that has been counter-evident for many years, and that is that for their commercial performance they depend on the platforms that have taken away their revenues. So sooner or later they will have to unite and build their own platforms that are not dependent on these, to offer practical and effective solutions and recover advertising budgets, and effectively monetize the investment of advertisers with good and large inventories, credibility and trust, multichannel advertising, greater visibility in the face of saturation in social networks, without reputational risks for brands, permanent messages and greater possibilities for the recall of the same brands within their own products.

Do you consider that the media in your country should establish agreements with artificial intelligence companies for the use of their content? What would be the benefits and risks of this type of agreements?

The risks and benefits of AI are the same with or without these agreements. What is undisputed, in any country, is that whoever profits from someone's work in any form, must recognize the fair value that corresponds to that work. And the best way to do this is with mutually beneficial trade agreements, negotiated with transparency and under conditions of parity, respect and mutual appreciation. Of course, if at a negotiation table, a supplier finds ethical reasons of inconvenience to consider that he should not ally or sign agreements with a company, then he does not do so, and such company will not be able to count on his work for the development of its activities.

What role do media partnerships and collaborations play in the sustainability of journalism and the generation of quality content? Do you think the media in your country are taking advantage of these opportunities effectively?

A fundamental one. The key word in this industry and many others in today's world is collaboration. Without union, dialogue, the sum of principles, purposes, actions, deliverables, it will be increasingly difficult to persevere and survive, and to guarantee plurality as the basis of a healthy information ecosystem. AMI is in itself a collaborative guild project, with which we have achieved progress in this area, and this is what drives our action based on that philosophy. This is a great challenge in Colombia, because the national culture is far from being collaborative. But these 8 years of AMI, after the evolution of Andiarios as a traditional newspaper guild, to the AMI project, which brings together 22 of the most important newspaper houses in the country, is already a significant evidence of contribution and perseverance in that work, with that conviction.