The Pulse of Journalism A Day in the Newsroom of the Dean La Estrella de Panamá

By Sandy Crespo The Star Of Panama

The smells of ink, paper and the indescribable coffee permeate the place Televisions turned on with different channels, on the walls - almost attached to the ceiling so that everyone can see from their positions - There are rows of writers on which rest agendas, books.

some full of documents, personal objectives and newspapers The place could be associated with any newsroom, but no, it is the newsroom of La Estrella de Panamá, the oldest newspaper in the country and Central America, which is 174 years old today and has adopted the new formats.

The printed newspaper, the web portal and the social networks coexist in one space Everyone has their place, everyone fits.

La Estrella de Panamá has joined the new ways of communicating, while continuing to report honestly, impartial and objective Each content is chosen with rigor and a common purpose: to reach each reader wherever they are and that they are informed through any device or format.

The keyboards are activated at 6:00 am The first to arrive are those responsible for the digital ecosystem, who rush to update the newspaper's portal with the most recent information The other journalists and editors begin to arrive.

The coffee pots are turned on Before reaching the newsroom, staff go through a security checkpoint.

They are greeted by an important mango tree; the color of the fruits warns that they can soon be harvested Then, they go through the reception and go up to the first floor where the magic happens.

In that large space, illuminated with white spotlights, although natural light enters through the windows There are filing cabinets, printers, copiers, plants.

They begin to 'COOK' THE NEWS' Each reporter proposes the topics that he will develop during the day, the editors meet to discuss priorities, assign or refocus what is due.

The journalists go to their respective coverage, consult sources or investigate and then start writing The routine is hectic, there is life, the noise of telephones, keyboards, voices, footsteps.

blends in with the dynamics of the staff Marlene, pause with that; Let's do another topic”, is the directive of the General Editor, Ivette Leonardi, to a journalist.

The days in the newsroom are like that, there are changes as the day goes by and the news emerges Reporters remain forewarned, they know that the day starts one way and could end another.

Gerardo Berroa, the director, full of experiences and stories, He walks into the newsroom, does a quick scan with his eyes, has done it for the last 16 years He has been known to earn the respect of his team.

He has a firm tone of voice with which he calls his journalists to assign and discuss issues When he speaks, he maintains eye control, taking control of the conversation.

When something is funny to him, everyone knows he laughs as loud as he talks His right hand "Lulú" or Lourdes Liebhardt, who has dedicated 16 years of her life to the trade.

Aside from her duties as her secretary, she brought the phrase What is this!, that everyone repeats when something happens that generates astonishment.

She is the voice of experience, of personal advice, of order and structure What is not seen.

"A written news item lives through photography," says Leonardi, referring to the eyes that accompany journalists Larish Julio and Roberto Barrios, coordinated by Erick Mariscano.

With their lenses they capture the photographs that illustrate the texts They go from one place to another fulfilling the assignments of the day, they go through the Newsroom to download the images.

They always carry a heavy backpack, full of cameras, lenses, memory cards, tripods, water The closing editor, José Arcia, reviewing one of the pages.

Erick Marciscano Each journalist is responsible for the assembly of their page: title, summary, photos, phrases, among other elements that they wish to highlight.

Subsequently, this page is delivered to the editor fully diagrammed by the Design team, the camaraderie department They are an essential part of the gear of a communication medium, and in La Estrella de Panamá (“La Decana”), essential part of the joy of the place.

The editor is in charge of reading it carefully, verifying the information, modifying it if required, or changing the journalistic focus that is to be achieved The editor then sends the article to the first reader, the finan filter, and who proofreads the spelling style.

Luzmila de Flamarique, affectionately known as "La Profe" Then, the page reaches Pagination where the designer on duty makes the last adjustments to finally send it to the press.

The process is completed from Monday to Monday ” Other tips follow.

Take note “A LOOSE TIP” (BY: CRITICAL EDITORIAL- (Friday, February 24, 2023 12:AM “UNUSUAL FEAT IN THE HISTORY OF FOOTBALL”.

“On Wednesday night, an unusual event for world football took place in our country, when the Senior Women's and Men's Under-17 teams of Panama managed to qualify almost simultaneously for their respective World Cups In fact it resonated internationally.

The Spanish Alexis María Martín-Tamayo Blázquez, known as Mister Chip, data expert, stated that "there is no such case in the history of football " Between the classification of one team and another there was a time of less than three minutes.

It was literally one joy after another Ignacio "Nacho" Quintana, coach of the women's team, said that he could not be happier for having contributed his bit to achieve the goal of qualifying Panama for its First Women's World Cup, Australia/New Zealand 2023.

"The group has He has fought, he has cried, he has laughed (…) This is the consequence of the work of several years”, said the technician of Mexican nationality, who two years ago took the reins of the women's team.

Quintana maintained that "we knew he was going to suffer" against Paraguay and thanked his players for giving him the opportunity to fulfill his dream of standing next to coaches from great powers, such as Brazil and France, group rivals in the Mudialiata event " "They have treated me like another Panamanian since day one, and this (the classification) goes to them (Panamanian fans)", she highlighted.

For his part, Mike Stump, U-17 coach, described the day as historic “When the referee whistled I thought he had whistled a free kick, I couldn't believe the game was over and we were in the World Cup (Peru 2023).

Very happy with the whole group, coaching staff, players, with FEPAFUT, for so much support and now to think about Mexico to finish the tournament well and then go to Panama and that the players can be with their families”, he stated Stump also applauded the classification of the women's team.

He stated that he sent congratulations to the coaching staff of the women's team “What a historic day”, we celebrated with the stands, with our 20 fans who sounded like 500, they told us that the women's had also qualified and it was another celebration with the boys… everyone jumping again and the experience was incredible”, he highlighted.

That's how it went "ANOTHER RELEASE TIP" (DÍARIO CRÍTICA EDITORIAL)- Friday, February 24, 2023 12:00 AM "Yunya, arrested for LAUNDERING MONEY with Gold Bullion and Cryptocurrencies.

The main laundering activity was carried out through the smuggling of gold bars between Spain The detection in Madrid of Jaime Powell Rodríguez, alias "Yunja", leader of the "Baghdad Cartel", was for money laundering through gold bars and belonging to a criminal organization, highlights a report by the Spanish National Police.

The note indicates that "Yunya" led the Panamanian cartel, one of the most powerful today, dedicated to international drug and arms trafficking, settling scores and homicides The main laundering activity was carried out through the smuggling of gold bars between Spain and Panama.

The arrest was made on the 20th in the town of Pozuelo de Alarcón, where Jaime Powell resided The Spanish Police had been looking for him since in 2021 the Treasury Department of the "USA" through its Embassy in Madrid, it pointed to the possible settlement of "Yunka" in Spain and the introduction of large amounts of cocaine into Europe as their main activity.

From that moment on, an investigation marked by close cooperation with the Panamanian authorities and judicial authorities aimed at verifying the information and arresting those responsible began After various investigations, the agents came to reconstruct up to more than ten money laundering operations carried out by the organization, for an amount of more than one million euros.

The investigators verified that an important laundering work carried out by the organization was carried out through the smuggling of gold bars from PANAMA for sale in a gold foundry in Spain The police officers arrested the Foundation's Financial Director, which was a significant blow against money laundering in Spain.

They also determined that another large part of the laundered money was subsequently converted into virtual currency The agents identified a citizen as the main person in charge of the company in charge of the conversion to cryptocurrencies, who was finally arrested.

In total, 10 people were arrested, 92 accounts worth 400,000 euros, 39 properties worth 1 5 million and 10 vehicles worth 170,000 euros were blocked.

At that time, the leader of the organization (“Yunya”) could not be located and the agents continued with efforts to locate him in cooperation with the Panamanian authorities Thanks to the appropriate efforts, it was possible to find out that he was in Madrid and he was arrested four days ago.

"Yunya" had been extradited from Dubai to Panama on June 25, 2018, but in March 2019, he was released from gang membership charges Now a prosecutor's office requests his extradition for a falsification of documents.

“Take note .