Journalists' Day in Colombia

The celebration of the Journalist's Day was born on February 9, 1791, with the appearance of the first newspaper in the capital, Papel Periódico de la Ciudad de Santafé de Bogotá, which was directed by the Cuban Manuel del Socorro Rodríguez de la Victoria. From there wrote some of the most important Colombian heroes such as Antonio Nariño, Francisco Antonio Zea, Francisco José de Caldas, among others, and the topics were diverse: the daily and social life of the colonies, the rescue of literary values, the military and civil activity of the metropolis and its possessions, the developments of science and knowledge.

With Rodríguez de la Victoria, the practice of professional journalism in Colombia began, and therefore, the Journalists' Circle of Bogotá (CPB) ratified the date of February 9 for the traditional celebration of the Professional Journalist's Day, and consecrated it in the previous Law 51 of December 18, 1975.

In 2004, by means of Law 918, a new date was announced for the celebration of the Journalist's Day (August 4) in homage to another precursor of the press, the independence hero Antonio Nariño, who translated and printed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen and who is considered the first political journalist of the country and one of the fighters of free expression through the periodical press. Even so, February 9 continues to be the day commemorated by journalists and by those of us who work from the media and academia for the development of Colombian society.