Journalists resign from Semana Magazine after the departure of Ricardo Calderón and Alejandro Santos

Semana Magazine announced, this November 10, the resignation of journalist Ricardo Calderón and Alejandro Santos. In turn, they appointed Vicky Dávila as the new director of the communication medium.

But the news did not stop there, In the following hours, five more journalists resigned from the magazine, some strongly criticizing the direction that Semana took.

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Two of the journalists who resigned belonged to the investigation team led by Calderón. They are Johanna Álvarez and Jaime Flórez, who were part of the journalistic work “Operation Silence”, which received the King of Spain Ibero-American Journalism Award.

“In Semana Magazine I fulfilled my dream of doing investigative journalism alongside the best Ricardo Calderón. I resign because the independence and depth that this journalistic team had disappeared ”, wrote Johanna Álvarez.

For his part, Jaime Flórez wrote on his Twitter account: “Ricardo Calderón embodies the essence of the journalism in which I believe. His departure marks an irreversible turn for Semana. That’s why I quit the magazine “.

The journalists, José Monsalve, who was at the judicial source, and Juan Pablo Vásquez, also said goodbye to Semana.

“I decide to leave Revista Semana where I have done most of my career. I am leaving out of professional conviction, honesty and respect for Ricardo Calderón. I believe that journalism requires the ingredients that, with its departure and other changes in the ‘new stage’, disappear “Monsalve said.

While Vasquez wrote: “I came to Semana Magazine more than three years ago and I fulfilled my dream as a child. I met incredible people who are my friends today. There is nothing left of that family that was formed. The departure of Ricardo Calderón, the best journalist in the country, was the final blow. I’m going. I quit”.

The last to report her departure was the Director of Sustainable Week, Ruby Marcela Pérez. “I have never felt so proud to be in a medium as in Semana Magazine. That was 3 years ago. I was never happier than when I was told to run Sustainable Week a long year ago. Eternal thanks to Alejandro Santos and María López. Dream fulfilled. I’m leaving too, ”the journalist wrote on her Twitter.

Through a statement, several changes were announced, including that Week and Money will be integrated in a single publication, which will circulate on Sundays. In addition, in the coming weeks all the digital content of Semana y Dinero will be on a single website.

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They also reported that this Tuesday a preliminary agreement was reached between shareholders to increase Gabriel Gilinski’s stake in the company. “In this new stage, the company will continue to focus its strategy on the transformation and strengthening of the organization’s digital platforms”, they assured from the magazine.

In the text, the media assures: “Ricardo Calderón, who recently assumed the direction of Semana magazine, has made the decision to retire for health reasons. Instead the journalist assumes Vicky Dávila, who will remain as editorial director of the entire Grupo Semana. Vicky has driven Semana’s digital transformation, with significant growth in audiences and social networks, since her arrival at the company”.

Felipe López, the founder of Semana, will continue as a shareholder of the Group and apparently will continue to have the editorial role in the magazine.

Faced with the departure of Alejandro Santos, the media did not provide many details, only that he is leaving the company. “To Alejandro Santos and Ricardo Calderón, who are retiring from Grupo Semana, we thank them for their valuable contribution during these years and we wish them great success in their new projects”.

On his Twitter account, Alejandro Santos wrote: “After 20 years in Semana I want to thank all the journalists and collaborators, those of today and those of yesterday, for having achieved the dream of becoming a benchmark in the continent. Thank you”.