Demands for Media Democratization and the Latin American New Left

PHILIP KITZBERGER

Sheffield

Conferencia; Media and Governance in Latin America; 2014

The University of Sheffield

The persistent elitist and concentrated character of Latin American media systems together with the growing perception of the media?s central role in the political process after the transitions to democracy raised the question of media democratization in the region. How have the different governmental experiences of the so called ?left turn? dealt with demands for media democratization? The proposed paper will, firstly, describe the different outcomes of media democratization policies in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, and Uruguay. Secondly, those different outcomes?such as varying media regulatory reforms or the failure to promote such reforms?will be accounted for in terms of previous levels of organization of media democratization demands, different constraints and incentives at the political-institutional level, and features of the respective media systems. Finally, the paper will address the contentious issue of how to measure the impact of these outcomes on media democratization.