Augustus Thorndike He does not walk with half measures and much less in these difficult times, in which he considers that a journalist must tell the truth and not remain silent before a president and his cabinet that is generating a severe crisis in the country. That is why, since last Sunday, he hosts the renewed “Contracorriente, el Dominical de Willax”, which, under the direction of Carlos Paredes, seeks to compete on an equal footing with the Sunday television star slots that always save their scoops for last. of week.
“The channel is growing and from Monday to Friday the prime time has already been consolidated with spaces for political opinion and news. With that confidence that being very well positioned in sectors A, B, and C has given the company, the decision was made to consolidate the weekend. In the aspect of entertainment, good proposals are already being presented and in prime time on Sunday at 8, which is a very complicated scenario, a bigger bet had to be made for Contracorriente, which includes a configuration of a larger team that includes reporters, cameramen, editors and a director of the caliber of Carlos Paredes”, says Thorndike.
In times of competition you have to appeal to good research and uncover…
Yes, and we have a seal that distinguishes us from the rest, we have a way of grounding our point of view. We believe that we must be clear in these complex circumstances, and well, we are also a new channel that adapts more easily to new media than other traditional projects.
Do you consider that there are lukewarm television media when it comes to reporting on this political crisis that we are going through?
Objectivity must always be given, journalistic rigor must exist and that requires contrasting with sources and making sure that the facts are correct, that the investigation is correct, and that there are no errors or wrong information.
So, in that aspect, many of us agree, but given the evidence of inaccuracies and potential corruption that is being demonstrated, you cannot have a neutral position, you have to call things by their name.
And you have to denounce it in all its forms…
We must respect the guiding principles of all the media, which is to defend democratic institutions, which are now under attack, so we must comply with the most basic codes of ethics of a journalist, have a clear and forceful position when we see all this filth that emanates from power in the palace. It is incredible what we are witnessing and with more and more evidence that there is a criminal organization installed in the Government Palace.
The networks and platforms that spread false news demand great rigor from open signal programs…
They have wanted to blackmail us from those who are affected by the point of view of our investigations, as if we were part of that current of false information and it is a lie, all the media can, let’s say, have some slip and then rectify. We could also highlight the mistakes of our colleagues, but it is inappropriate and in addition to bad taste, social networks do not have any filter, because they lack formal journalistic work, they do not have training and they do not know how to handle the facts. Not everyone can be a reporter just by having a cell phone in hand.
How do you think that today a journalist can maintain his credibility and his image in public opinion?
Well, I think that a mistake is to try to look good with everyone under the pretext of objectivity, of being neutral, which ultimately does not define a clear position regarding events that, sometimes, it is necessary to condemn. Corruption must be condemned, a fact that shows a mistake by a high official must be vehemently and severely condemned, and much more so in the context in which we are living. I think a communicator’s mistake is not being clear about the real threat against our democracy. They called us crazy exaggerated, we haven’t turned a year and look at everything that’s happening, just as it was warned from Willax’s screen, and that’s why now people trust us.
Augustus Thorndike
The son of the journalist Guillermo Thorndike began as a teenager in journalism with his legendary father. His career in journalism has taken him to work on major television channels.
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