Protests throughout Colombia began on Thursday November 21st, and continued the next day. They were led by labor unions, and student and indigenous organizations. The were protesting potential changes in minimum wage, tax reforms, and pensions, as well as the privatisation of state companies, alleged corruption, and the government’s supposed failure to follow a peace deal that was made in 2016 with left-wing rebels. Initial reports of the protests were positive, referring to them as “peaceful and joyful”. The article in question (linked below) briefly mentioned that there were a few cases of minor violence, but overall it focused on the good, highlighting the generally calm reaction of police officers to the protest and the fact that some of the protestors in the city of Cali were campaigning against violence. This article was published on the 21st, the day that the protests began. An article published on the 22nd, however, had the opposite focus, only briefly mentioning that the protests were mostly peaceful and then going into detail about the violent exceptions. According to the more recent article, the protests resulted in 3 deaths, 98 arrests, 122 civilian injuries, and 151 security force member injuries. While the first article painted a better picture of relations between the protestors and the police, the second article reported potential police brutality, vandalism by protestors in Cali (the city with “anti-violence” marches), the use of tear gas in the capital city of Bogotá, and a ban on alcohol sales in the capital from Friday to Saturday. Comparing the two articles was interesting, because they gave two completely different impressions of the protests. I think the difference between the articles shows why it is sometimes better to wait a little while before reporting on something rather than trying to get articles out as soon as an event begins. I assume that the earlier article was written before any of the deaths that occurred became public knowledge, or else it likely wouldn’t have brushed off the violence as so minor. While people who follow news closely may like getting reports as soon as events begin, not waiting long enough can mean that you don’t end up telling the whole story, and readers may come away with incorrect or incomplete portrayals of what happened.