Lecturer in International Relations Dr Catalina Montoya Londoño has released a new book, which launched at the International Book Fair in Bogota, Colombia.
Entitled Los cercos del debate sobre restitución de tierras. Encuadres retóricos de la Ley 1448 de 2011 en la prensa colombiana nacional y regional (The boundaries of the debate on Land Restitution. Rhetorical framing of the Law 1448 of 2011 in the National and Local Press), the book explores the coverage of the Law of Victims and Land Restitution in Colombia by seven national and local news media, using an innovative methodological approach that integrates rhetorical and framing analysis in a systematic fashion.
The Law 1448 of Victims and Land Restitution aims to redress victims of the armed conflict and promote peace using an agrarian and transitional justice focus. An analysis of more than 1,500 articles reveals political and economic interests not always aligned with the public interest, and shows the ways in which media outlets of key regions in the implementation of the Law reinterpreted the governmental discourse about the Law. In addition, the analysis shows how rhetorical fallacies and figures increased the resonance of certain frames, very much in line with the post-truth environment.
The book contributes to political communication and journalism studies, with a novel methodological approach that sees rhetorical and framing analysis converge in a systematic fashion. In addition, the book contributes to discussions about land tenure, a key factor of conflict in Colombia - historically neglected in political and media agendas. The book will be of interest for academics, professionals in the areas of communication, politics and media, agrarian development and law interested in the context of the Law 1448, and more broadly, in the contribution that the analysis of rhetorical framing can make to public debates.