''El Búho'' ( English: ''The Owl'') is a

weekly newspaper Weekly newspaper is a general-news or Current affairs (news format), current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and electronic publishing, digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspap ...

based in

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

that focuses on

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...

. The paper also publishes a magazine of the same name.

History

During the 1990s, censorship in Peru was prevalent during the administration of

Alberto Fujimori Alberto Kenji Fujimori Fujimori (26 July 1938 – 11 September 2024) was a Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer who served as the 54th president of Peru from 1990 to 2000.* * * * * * * Born in Lima, Fujimori was the country's fir ...

. In March 2000, ''El Búho'' was launched by Alonso Ruiz Rosas, Mabel Cáceres and Odi Gonzales as a response to the lack of press freedom in Peru. Cáceres continued to serve as the director of the newspaper, with her stories focusing on corruption in Peru and the reorganization of

Fujimorism Fujimorism (, , Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ) is the policies and the List of political ideologies, political ideology of former President of Peru, President of Peru Alberto Fujimori as well as the personality cult built around him, his polici ...

. The newspaper engages in

fact-checking Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of questioned reporting and statements. Fact-checking can be conducted before or after the text or content is published or otherwise disseminated. Internal fact-checking is such che ...

reporting. In one incident,

Infobae Infobae is an international Argentine online newspaper. It was launched in 2002 by businessman Daniel Hadad, with the original headquarters in Buenos Aires. The company expanded globally with local editions in New York City, Mexico City, Miami ...

reported that ''El Búho'' fact-checked statements by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Alberto Otárola Luis Alberto Otárola Peñaranda (born 12 February 1967) is a Peruvian attorney and politician who was the Prime Minister of Peru from 2022 until his resignation in 2024. He previously served as Minister of Defense twice, under Ollanta Humala a ...

, who said that dynamite was used in Arequipa during a period of widespread protests, with the newspaper contacting authorities who denied the reports.

Collaboration

''El Búho'' has collaborated with various media Latin American organizations in its reporting. Reporting on

femicides in Peru Femicides in Peru are murders committed against women in Peru, a country in South America, which experiences high levels of violence against women. Between 2010 and 2017, 837 women were murdered and 1,172 murder attempts were made. Updated numbers ...

, the newspaper worked with the journalistic collective Connectas, contributing to an initiative focused on gender-based violence in Latin America that also included Bolivia's ''Acceso'', El Salvador's '' La Prensa Gráfica'' and Venezuela's

Runrunes Runrunes ( English: ''Rumors'') is a news, opinion and analysis website dedicated to Venezuelan topics. The website was founded by Venezuelan investigative journalist Nelson Bocaranda. History Journalist Nelson Bocaranda had a weekday show, "' ...

. The newspaper has also collaborated in press events with the Peruvian journalism website, La Mula.

Press freedom

In 2004, IFEX reported that all copies of ''El Búho'' were purchased in Arequipa by men in vans that reportedly belonged to the National University of San Agustín; that day's edition of the newspaper reported on corruption and mismanagement within the university. The newspaper's director, Mabel Cáceres, faced one year in prison for her reporting on the university after its president, Rolando Cornejo Cuervo, brought forth defamation charges against her; the

Overseas Press Club The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain ...

denounced the charges in a letter addressed to President

Alejandro Toledo Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique (; born 28 March 1946) is a Peruvian former politician who served as President of Peru, from 2001 to 2006. He gained international prominence after leading the opposition against president Alberto Fujimori, w ...

. Cáceres was subjected to thirteen lawsuits between 2012 and 2014 and faces frequent

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...

s according to

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

. Much of the legal action towards Cáceres stemmed from her reporting on controversial mining operations near Arequipa.

Reception

In 2014, Mabel Cáceres, the newspaper's director, was placed on

"100 Information Heroes" list. Cáceres received the 2016 Courage In Journalism Award from the

International Women's Media Foundation The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), located in Washington, D.C., is an organization working internationally to elevate the status of women in the media. The IWMF has created programs to help women in the media develop practical so ...

for her reporting, with the foundation writing "Cáceres continues to commit to strengthening independent media through telling truth to power." Aja Naomi King, who handed Cáceres the award, stated "I feel like we take for granted all the rights and privileges that we are given on a daily basis, ... To meet someone who wants to fight to just tell the truth about what’s happening in government ... this is a real life superhero right here."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:El Búho Fact-checking websites Investigative journalism Newspapers published in Peru Watchdog journalism