The toll on journalism and local media
Reporting from an earthquake zone carries risks that don’t end when the shaking stops. Aftershocks, weakened buildings, landslides, ruptured gas lines and downed power lines all remain hazards for reporters working in the field — on top of the disrupted phone and internet service that makes it harder to file stories, verify information, or simply check in with family and colleagues. Beyond the physical risks, covering scenes of destruction and loss takes a toll on journalists’ mental health, and disaster reporting is also an environment where rumours and misinformation spread quickly, adding pressure on newsrooms to report accurately and responsibly under very difficult conditions.
How GFMD members in Colombia are responding
Our Colombia-based members have been active since the earthquake hit, some supporting colleagues directly, others keeping the public informed about the disaster and its aftermath:
- Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) published a statement and set of safety recommendations for journalists covering the affected areas, covering everything from physical safety in damaged buildings to planning coverage, staying in contact with colleagues, and looking after mental health during and after reporting on disaster and loss. FLIP is also directly offering to accompany and support any journalist or outlet affected by the emergency, and is collecting donations of essential goods to deliver to the Proceso de Comunidades Negras (PCN) in Bogotá.
- Fundación Gabo shared guidance for responsible emergency coverage, with a strong focus on helping journalists avoid inadvertently amplifying disinformation while reporting on the earthquake and its aftermath.
- Fundación Vorágine – Periodismo Contracorriente shared on LinkedIn that while its Baudó-based colleagues living in Pereira are safe, one member of that team lost his home and belongings entirely in the earthquake. Vorágine is asking its network to contribute directly to support him, see the callout here.
- Fundación Mutante used its channels to spotlight communities in Chocó that mainstream cameras and microphones have largely missed. In a Facebook post, the outlet shared audio and video gathered from seven residents of Chocó municipalities describing conditions on the ground. Mutante’s reporting points to a connectivity gap in Chocó that long predates the earthquake, and it’s now asking the public to help identify local accounts and outlets reporting first-hand from the department’s municipalities.
- Connectas published an explainer, produced with El Tiempo, on why the Colombian earthquake — a single deep quake in the Pacific subduction zone — produced a different damage pattern than the two shallow, near-simultaneous quakes that hit Venezuela in June, helping readers make sense of the disaster’s mechanics and its uneven impact.
- Cuestión Pública has kept up rolling video coverage from the ground, including a report on rescue operations in Cali, the response of medical staff at the Hospital Universitario del Valle, and the aid points set up across Valle del Cauca, alongside a segment on what people can donate.
How our community can support affected journalists and media
To understand what our members and the broader Colombian media community need right now, GFMD has opened an Emergency Needs Assessment for Colombian journalists and media organisations to complete. Filling it in helps us direct support, funding leads and solidarity where they’re needed most.
Complete the Emergency Needs Assessment here
For organisations and individuals looking for financial support options, our Fundraising Guide also has a dedicated Spanish-language section on crisis and emergency funding, listing international emergency funds for journalists and media workers:
+ Fondos para crisis/emergencias | Guía de recaudación de fondos de MediaDev
General resources for journalists covering earthquakes
Beyond the Colombia-specific guidance above, these resources from international safety and trauma organisations offer broader, reusable guidance for reporting on earthquakes and their aftermath:
- CPJ – Physical safety: Natural disasters and extreme weather: practical guidance on accommodation, communications, check-in procedures, and identifying risks specific to a disaster zone.
- CPJ – Resources for journalists covering the environment or extreme weather: a hub of CPJ’s physical, digital and psychological safety resources for disaster assignments.
- CPJ – Journalist Security Guide: a full field manual covering risk assessment, communications planning and emergency response, with a dedicated natural-disasters chapter.
- ACOS Alliance: the Freelance Journalist Safety Principles, assignment safety checklists, and trauma/self-care guides — built with freelance and local journalists specifically in mind.
- Global Center for Journalism and Trauma: tip sheets on interviewing survivors, avoiding re-traumatisation, and the ethical dilemmas of reporting versus helping in a disaster zone.
- Earth Journalism Network – Reporting on Disasters: a tip sheet on covering both the disaster itself and its longer-term aftermath.
- IJNet / ICFJ Pamela Howard Forum on Crisis Reporting: ongoing training sessions and practical resources for reporters covering crises, disasters and humanitarian emergencies.
Get in touch
If you are a Colombian journalist or media organisation affected by the earthquake, please complete the Emergency Needs Assessment form above. We are coordinating with our members and partners to make sure support reaches those who need it.
Our thoughts are with everyone in Colombia affected by this disaster, and our respect goes out to the journalists continuing to inform their communities under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
This article will be updated as the situation develops and as more of our members share how they are responding.