Storied Paper Bets on a Daily Future in Colombia

"With Colombia growing so fast, with this economic boom, it's inconceivable that there's only one national paper," Córdoba said, referring to the largest-circulation paper in the country, El Tiempo. "It's foolish not to take advantage of these times and the space that we have right now."

Colombia can be a fascinating place to cover. It's a dynamic, beautiful country rich in culture and characters, from well-bred sophisticates to working stiffs with a gift for telling tales. On the other hand, it's beset by conflict, drugs and some of the world's most fanatical warlords.

Daily news events border on the outrageous -- the latest big story to shake the country is about a former congresswoman who readily admitted casting a crucial vote in support of President Álvaro Uribe in exchange for political favors.

Bogota is at the center of this vibrant news environment.

This chilly capital high in the Andes has several dailies, from the business-oriented La República to El Nuevo Siglo, which focuses on politics. It also has scrappy progressive papers such as Un Pasquín, which comes out occasionally to excoriate the elite. Semana is regarded as perhaps the best newsweekly in Latin America.

But El Espectador's editors are betting that their paper will find a dedicated readership -- one editor called the typical reader "a restless intellectual" -- by carving a niche. Its editors say it will be aggressive when needed, and incisive. With a limited staff, it will pick its shots carefully. And it will work to publish well-written stories, a trait generally missing from Colombia's big dailies.

Its directors are also preparing for the multi-headed journalism of the future: El Espectador's Web site has 11 of its own reporters, and it shares reporting with the Caracol television network.

"Our idea is to get people to think," said Jorge Cardona, the managing editor. "We want to be well-written and offer lot of context, to do a very good job explaining what is happening."

The paper's first revived daily edition underscored its serious nature, with an examination of Uribe's ideology, a story about an army colonel accused of rights abuses and a front-pager on the country's centrist politicians.

There is a profile on a leading human rights activist, Iván Cepeda, who is under attack from the government. There's also a reconstruction of how Clara Rojas, kidnapped by guerrillas, gave birth in the jungle. It is a story told by Héctor Abad, a novelist El Espectador hopes will be one of the paper's signature writers.

As last week came to a close, the newsroom bubbled with enthusiasm ahead of Sunday's launch. Most of the reporters are in their 20s. Their editors, only slightly older, are prone to say things like, "For me, this is more than a job, it's an honor."

Élber Gutiérrez, who recently arrived from Semana magazine, acknowledged feeling anxious. And Nelson Padilla, the Sunday editor, listed the challenges the paper faces.