Ithiel Roberto Eisenmann Field Jr. is a Panamanian journalist known for founding and heading ''La Prensa'', a leading daily newspaper described as Panama's

newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the o ...

''La Prensa'' under military rule

After several years in exile in the U.S., Eisenmann returned to Panama in 1979. In 1980, he founded ''La Prensa'' to oppose the military dictatorship of

Omar Torrijos Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera (February 13, 1929 – July 31, 1981) was the Commander of the Panamanian National Guard and military leader of Panama from 1968 to his death in 1981. Torrijos was never officially the president of Panama, ...

, and the paper published its first issue on August 4, 1980. The paper soon ran into strong, and occasionally violent, opposition. In 1982, ''Prensa'' editor Carlos Ernesto González was sentenced to five months' imprisonment for an article critical of President Aristedes Royo, in which he accused the president of being behind the gunshots fired at the ''Prensa'' building by Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) supporters. In 1986, ''La Prensa'' was the only newspaper to publish reports critical of military leader

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator, politician and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. An authoritaria ...

; the government consequently adopted a formal resolution condemning Eisenmann as a "traitor to the nation". Eisenmann then reportedly lived in exile in the U.S. for fear of his safety, first in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

as a

Nieman Fellow The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and then in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. On July 2, 1987, PRD supporters burned down Mansion Dante, a commercial complex owned by the Eisenmann family. On July 26, security forces entered the building with an order to close ''La Prensa'' signed by Governor of Panama

Alberto Velázquez Alberto Camilo Velázquez (born 16 July 1934) is a Uruguayan former cyclist. He competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games ...

; two smaller opposition papers were also closed. ''La Prensa'' remained closed for six months, putting out its next issue on January 20, 1988. The paper was occupied and closed by government troops again in 1988, remaining closed until after the December 1989

United States invasion of Panama The United States invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause, lasted over a month between mid-December 1989 and late January 1990. It occurred during the administration of President George H. W. Bush and ten years after the Torrijos– ...

. During the invasion, the U.S. Army stated that it found documents from opponents of the regime—ranging from Eisenmann to U.S. presidents

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

—being used in apparent

Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the tradit ...

rituals against them. The paper reopened in January 1990. Eisenmann called the issue "the first La Prensa that we have ever published without threat, without being under the gun".

Under civilian rule

Following democratic reforms, ''La Prensa'' continued to report on politics and government corruption. In the 1994 presidential election, the paper opposed

Democratic Revolutionary Party The Democratic Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Democrático, PRD) is a political party in Panama founded in 1979 by General Omar Torrijos. It is generally described as being positioned on the centre-left. History Since its creat ...

(PRD) candidate

Ernesto Pérez Balladares Ernesto Pérez Balladares González-Revilla (born June 29, 1946), nicknamed ''El Toro'' ("The Bull"), is a Panamanian politician who was the President of Panama between 1994 and 1999. Educated in the United States, Pérez Balladares worked as ...

—the election's eventual winner—stating in editorials that he was a threat to the country's post-dictatorship democracy. Peruvian journalist

Gustavo Gorriti Gustavo Andrés Gorriti Ellenbogen (born 4 February 1948, Lima, Peru) is a Peruvian journalist known for his reporting on rebel groups, government corruption, and drug trafficking. In 2011, the European Journalism Centre described him as having ...

joined the investigative staff, and after a series of articles reporting on the connections between drug traffickers and the PRD, had his work visa rejected by the Panamanian government and was charged with defamation by Attorney General

José Antonio Sossa José Antonio Sossa is a Panamanian politician who served as Attorney General of Panama under President Mireya Moscoso. Clashes with journalists Sossa had several conflicts with the press, particularly the opposition newspaper ''La Prensa ''La ...

for an article about Sossa himself. In 1999, Eisenmann served as an informal advisor to the administration of President

Mireya Moscoso Mireya Elisa Moscoso Rodríguez de Arias (born July 1, 1946) is a Panamanian politician who served as the President of Panama from 1999 to 2004. She is the country's first female president. Born into a rural family, Moscoso became active in t ...

of the Arnulfista Party. In March 2001, Pérez Balladares' former foreign minister,

Ricardo Alberto Arias Ricardo Alberto Arias (born September 11, 1940, Panama City, Panama) was the Panamanian Ambassador to the United Nations, serving from 2004 to 2009. He is also a founding member and partner of Galindo, Arias and Lopez law firm, and is a member of ...

, forced out Gorriti and was elected ''La Prensa'''s new president by a majority of shareholders. The

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...

, which had awarded Gorriti its International Press Freedom Award for his work with the paper, called the election, and the resignations and demotions of investigative staff that followed, a "boardroom coup" that left "the once feisty paper a shadow of its former self". Eisenmann went on to work for a non-governmental organization. In 2004, former Attorney General Sossa filed a criminal complaint for defamation against Eisenmann after he accused Sossa in a ''Prensa'' column of "protecting criminals and filing charges against journalists". Eisenmann was barred from leaving the country, and after refusing to answer questions on the case in court, was declared in contempt.

Awards

In 1995, Eisenmann was awarded a special citation of the

Maria Moors Cabot Prize The Maria Moors Cabot Prizes are the oldest international awards in the field of journalism. They are presented each fall by the Trustees of Columbia University to journalists in the Western hemisphere who are viewed as having made a significant co ...

for "promoting press freedom and inter-American understanding". On July 4, 2014, the Inter American Press Association (SIP) established between its annual awards for journalistic excellence Environmental Journalism category, under the name I. Roberto Eisenmann, in recognition of the history of the founder of La Prensa as a promoter of democratic and civic values that postulates the organization, composed of over 300 Media in the Americas. The decision was taken unanimously by the full Executive Committee of the SIP, as part of its mid-year meeting, held in , Barbados.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisenmann, I. Roberto Living people Maria Moors Cabot Prize winners Panamanian journalists Male journalists Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)