Luz Mely Reyes
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Luz Mely Reyes (born 1967) is a Venezuelan journalist, writer, and analyst. She is known as the director and co-founder of the digital media franchise ''
Efecto Cocuyo Efecto Cocuyo () is a Venezuelan journalism outlet devoted to independent media. The website was co-founded in January 2015 by Laura Weffer, former director of Venezuelan newspaper '' Diario 2001'', Luz Mely Reyes, and Josefina Ruggiero, former c ...
''. She has received multiple honors for her work.


Education

Reyes grew up in an impoverished area of Caracas, and so her main aim was to escape poverty, never dreaming of being a journalist. She did not think it was the right job for her, either, but a professor convinced her to study
Social Communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not only transmit ...
. In her first two semesters of it she still did not feel it was a fit. She graduated with a degree in Social Communication from the
Central University of Venezuela Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
. She has a
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in
Organizational communication Within the realm of communication studies, organizational communication is a field of study surrounding all areas of communication and information flow that contribute to the functioning of an organization . Organizational communication is constant ...
and Journalism from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. In 2016, she took a course in Entrepreneurial Journalism at
CUNY The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...
, studying in the English language. She was an international prize scholar of the
Konrad Adenauer Foundation The Konrad Adenauer Foundation ('' German: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: KAS'') is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's head ...
and won a grant from the
Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...
to do a one-month course on Andean Integration at the
Pontifical Xavierian University The Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (English: Xavierian Pontifical University) is a private university in Colombia founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest and most traditional Colombian universities, directed by the Society of Jesus, with its ...
in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
. Reyes has been a professor of postgraduate studies in
Political communication Political communication is the study of political messaging that is communicated, usually to the public e.g. political campaigns, speeches and political advertising, often concerning the mass media. It is an interdisciplinary field that draws f ...
at Simón Bolívar University (USB).


Career

Reyes started her career as a
sports journalist Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...
for the paper ''
Últimas Noticias ''Últimas Noticias'' is a tabloid newspaper in Venezuela founded in 1941 after pro-freedom measures implemented by President Isaías Medina Angarita and was the largest circulated newspaper in Venezuela prior to 2014. ''Le Monde'' and Reuters d ...
'', which she did not relate with much. Later, she worked for '' El Aragüeño'', where she was assigned to politics, which she was fond of and became one of her main sources of interest. In one interview, she said that it was only in February 1992 that she was "baptized" as a journalist. That was when she covered the February 1992 coup attempt against
Carlos Andrés Pérez Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez (27 October 1922 – 25 December 2010) also known as CAP and often referred to as ''Venezuelan Spanish#Some examples of Spanish words common in Venezuela.2C including some native Venezuelanisms .28slang.29, El ...
. She confessed, "I didn't know that a coup was coming, I was too '' jojota''
reen A rhyne (Somerset), rhine/rhyne (Gloucestershire), or reen (South Wales) (all pronounced "reen"; from Old English ''ryne'' or Welsh Language, Welsh ''rhewyn'' or ''rhewin'' "ditch") is a drainage ditch, or canal, used to turn areas of wetla ...
" That was her first day on the job, insisting she had to leave the house to go to work; it marked her career. In 2002, she became the Political Editor of ''Últimas Noticias''. She was promoted to be Head of the Investigation Group, a role she held for ten years. She led the election project "Tuvoto2012" ("Your vote 2012") across the Cadena Capriles for a year. After that, she became director of '' Diario 2001'' in 2014. In 2015, with colleagues Laura Weffer and Josefina Ruggiero she created a new independent digital media body, ''Efecto Cocuyo'', with the slogan "Journalism that illuminates". The idea for the website came after incidents where the founders had been persecuted for attempting journalistic freedom; Reyes herself was arraigned by the government for writing a piece about gasoline
shortages in Venezuela Shortages in Venezuela of food staples and basic necessities occurred throughout Venezuela's history. Scarcity became more widespread following the enactment of price controls and other policies under the government of Hugo Chávez and exac ...
.


Publications


Books and blog

* ''Con la vagina bien puesta'' (''With the vagina well-placed''), 2006. About the relation of women to society and the importance of physical appearance. * ''Marketing político: Herramientas para ganar elecciones'' (''Political marketing: Tools to win elections''), 2003. Written with Carmen Beatriz Fernández about the use of political marketing. * ''Politikom Real'', (since 2002) digital
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
(blog) for analysis and political opinions.


Notable reports and investigations

* Micabú Case (in collaboration with Gerardo Reyes) about irregularities in the contract for printing the constitutional text in 2000. *''Corrupción en el secuestro del "canciller" de las FARC, Rodrigo Granda'' (''Corruption in the kidnapping of the FARC "councilor" Rodrigo Granda'') in 2005, about the titular disappearance which caused the Rodrigo Granda affair, a diplomatic crisis between Colombia and Venezuela. * Acts of Corruption in the 2007 Iran-Venezuela Project.


Recognition

In 2014 she received the Napolitan Victory Award for merit in Latin-American political journalism. She was included in the list of the 30 most influential female academics in Iberoamerica in 2017 by Esglobal. In 2018 the
Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...
awarded Reyes the International Press Freedom Award. In her acceptance speech she noted that there were many other journalists killed and imprisoned that year and mentioned the fact that in 25 years of political journalism she only had to start wearing protective clothing in
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, though she had faced government intimidation and jail threats before. The 2018 ''Time'' Person of the Year was "The Guardians" – journalists refusing to stand down despite being persecuted for reporting the truth. Though not one of the four primary recipients of the honor, Reyes was spotlighted in the full feature.


Personal life

Reyes has a husband, Denis, and a son, Ivan, who is a
photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Luz Mely Living people Writers from Caracas Venezuelan women journalists Venezuelan writers Year of birth missing (living people) 1960s births Central University of Venezuela alumni Academic staff of Simón Bolívar University (Venezuela) Andrés Bello Catholic University alumni Venezuelan women educators