Under the Threat of Chronicles

Abstract

The form and content of the university chronicle in Colombia - written and published by student reporters in newspapers and magazines that serve as laboratories for undergraduates in social communication and journalism -is examined in the full-length mirror of the contemporary Latin American journalistic narrative of the so-called new chroniclers of the Indies. This article describes the gamble these apprentice journalists are taking on the chronicle. It is based on a pre-selection of 300 narratives from a total of 700 found in 35 newspapers and magazines, in print and digital form, and on a final selection made into an anthology:Aprendiz de cronista (Apprentice Chronicler) featuring 105 chronicles published between October 1999 and November 2013. It also looks at the recurring themes among young reporters, such as crime, drug trafficking, forced migration, urban life, marginalization, prostitution, gangs, music, recreation and sports, major and minor moonlighting or jobs on the side; in other words, the individual and social splendors and miseries of each day.