Chilean News Media

This semester has been filled with story after story of uprisings, revolts,and disasters. It has been a lot of information to digest.  It seemed that everyday something new was happening in a different country.  Chile has not been a part of any turmoil in the recent months.  The news that I have been keeping track of all semester has been much more mellow, that of a country striving to expand and prosper. Maybe that is due to the fact that Chile has already had their times of military coups and dictatorships.  News has reflected their attempts to expand their free trade agreements, make advancements in nuclear energy, and promote freedom of press. 

Chile is currently considered to be a free press country and this is definitely reflected in their media. In 2010, Freedom press index had them rated at 33 out of 178 countries for their level of freedom in regards to their media, a whole 7 places higher than in 2009.  Chile is working to maintain their constitution's decree of freedom of speech and media which allows them to report on controversial issues and government policies without repercussions from any political officials. 

This strive for open press was made apparent when in 2010 they became the first country to pass a law on net- neutrality.  This law states that no ISP can block, interfere, or censor any user from sending, viewing, or using any legitimate sources on the Internet.  It also includes a clause that prohibits governmental control over the Internet.  As of March 22, 2011 they remain they only country to do so.

Although the country has freedom of press, the press is still limited in ownership.  Chile has what is considered a duopoly.  Two major conglomerates own the majority of the newspapers and magazines distributed in Chile.  Which leaves me wondering if the government isn't using the media to promote their agendas and to control the country, are the conglomerates?? Time will tell that tale and as discussed in class media conglomeration has it's positives and its negatives attributes to be expected.

But overall Chile seems to be on the right track.  Through their many efforts to expand economically, commercially, and globally it seems inevitable that they will continue to remain one of the most stable countries in Latin America and even pull ahead from them all.

In response to Osama bin laden's death

Foreign Minister Alfredo Moreno addressed the death of the Al Qaeda leader from Rome.  He was on a visit to the Italian city to attend a ceremony arranged for the late Pope John Paul II.

His statement was translated by the Santiago Times on May 2nd.  He expressed his support of the U.S. military operation that resulted in the death of the fugitive.  He suggested that the terrorist got what was coming to him after years of running and it was his time to face the consequences of his actions.  He made a point to state that this was a "very important advance in the war on terrorism". 

He noted the importance of international communication and cooperation for the war not only terror, but also drug trafficking and organized crime.

Top Visited sites in Chile

There are over 8.4 million Internet users in Chile, with about 17 million people in the population as of June 2010.  According to Google's public data taken from World Bank, this makes up about 34% of Chile's population of Internet users.  This may not seem like much, but the percentage rates reported by Internet world stats have seen a 376.2% increase from 2000-2009.  Chile has been steadily growing throughout the years.  Also, one has to take into account that there are still citizens in the country that live in more traditional, rural communities. Efforts are being made to integrate these communities in to the technological era, so it is likely that within a few years those percentages will rise significantly. 

Here are the top sites currently visited by Chilean Internet users reported by Alexa.com

1. facebook
2.Google Chile
3.Google
4.YouTube
5.Windows live
6.blogger.com
7.yahoo
8.Las Ultimas Noticias
9.wikipedia
10.MSN
11.Taringa
12.Twitter
13. El Mercurio de Santiago
14.megaupload
15. Terra

Social media is obviously very popular in Chile.  I found it interesting that the most visited sites are mostly English sits, the Spanish sites do not appear until further down the list.

More trade expansion for Chile

At the end of April the Latin American News Dispatch reported that Chile was one of four Latin American countries to sign an agreement to work towards integrating their economies and promoting trade with Asia. By strengthening their ties with Asia the countries hope to develop "deep integration" that would make the exchange of people, goods, and services easier.

This group, that includes: Chile; Mexico; Columbia, and Peru, have the potential to become Latin America's largest trading block.  Their total economical market surpasses $872 billion, this makes up over55% of Latin America's exports.

Nothing is set in stone quite yet.  this agreement is looked at as more of a "road map" of where the countries would like to end up.  they have hope that the possible integration will increase the $6 billion in trade between the four Latin countries and Asia seen last year.

LOLLAPALOOZA in Chile??

For those all of you music fanatics out there I'm sure you are familiar with the word Lollapalooza. Mitch-a-palooza maybe?? Well if not, don't fear, it's a simple explanation. Lollapalooza is a 3 day music festival that takes place each year in Chicago. The festival was started 20 years ago by Jane's Addiction front man Perry Farrell. The festival has brought a musical blend of punk, hip-hop, new wave, electronica and (then as now) Jane’s Addiction to Chicago.

After reinventing the festival in 2005, Farrell decided that it was time to expand. Instead of taking lollapalooza over to Europe, just to be another one hundreds of music fetivals that already take place, he decided to tap into a new market- Chile!

The festival took place the first weekend in April in O'Higgins park, the second largest park in Chile, holding nearly 40,000 people a day. 40,000 may seem like a large crowd but in comparison to the fetival's usual 100,000 per day, the crowd was relatively small and Farrell did not foresee making a profit from this expansion, but money was not of concern.

The festival had a 50 band line up. The main headliners were all American, including Kanye West, the Killers, the Deftones and Jane’s Addiction. They added a new twist to the festival, each day included performances by Chilean and Spanish-speaking artists. Farrell was quoted saying, “we are also looking to bring some of those artists out to Chicago for a musical foreign exchange.”

Seems that while the country is taking on some new musical trends, adopting some American artists into their musical interests, they are still maintaining their local musical interests as well.

Let's Talk Music...

I've talked a lot about the different forms of media in Chile and who owns them, current events, and a brief overview of the country's structure. But let's discuss something a little lighter... MUSIC media!! Chile's musical interests range from traditional folkloric music, classical, to current popular music trends.

Many of the folklore melodies have roots within the different indigenous tribes of northern, central, and southern Chile. Their national dance is called the cueca. The dance is a story of a man pursuing a woman who plays coy hiding behind her handkerchief and it is performed at every important festival in Chile.

One of the biggest musical movements of the country came in the 1960s with the introduction of "nueva canción" (new song) movement. This movement put emphasis on the use of guitars, traditional Andean instruments, and began using politically based lyrics to address the struggles for change. Violeta Parra was a popular singer of this style of music and a member of one of the country's most popular bands, Los Jaivas. Victor Jara was another singer to gain fame from this musical movement.

http://youtu.be/K8cC-D8L02I

Groups from the "nueva cancion" movement such as Inti-Illimani and Quilapayún used their musical talents to speak out against the Pinochet dictatorship and were driven underground. Their tapes influenced artists all over Latin America.
http://youtu.be/-Doqe4fDgI8

Today, a lot of clubs embrace the popular trends in music. Reggaeton, cumbia, and salsa music can be heard playing in many Chilean clubs. Chile also has artists dabbling in rock, metal,and their own twist on techno. Many of the artist's, exiled in Pinochet's reign, children have made musical name for themselves as well. Some popular ones include: DJ Ricardo Villalobos,DJ Luciano, Alejandro Vivanco, Pier Bucci, Cuti Aste, Bitman & Roban, Claude Roubillie and Electrodomesticos.
http://youtu.be/lyac4HmsC2Q

Chile Set to Exhume President Allende's Body

Last Friday, Chilean judge Mario Carroza ordered the exhumation of the late President Allende's body decades after his death during the bloody 1973 coup that resulted in General Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship from 1973 to 1990. The disinterment, which is scheduled to take place some time late next month, will be done in an attempt to put to rest any questions surrounding the death of the president.

Autopsies performed hours after the death of President Allende stated that the president died from a self-inflicted gun shot would through the chin with a AK- 47 assault rifle. But questions still trouble many human rights groups and political officials. They wonder if his death was really due to suicide or if he met his untimely end by General Pinochet's military forces. The autopsy will continue the investigation announced in January by a Chilean prosecutor into the death of Allende's death and more that 725 additional human rights complaints against General Pinochet’s military dictatorship.

Allende's family has long accepted the theory that their relative committed suicide and never disputed it. Although, recently the family made a formal request to have the body exhumed for autopsy. Allende's daughter Isabel Allende, who is also a Socialist member of Parliament, told CNN-Chile, “It’s not that the family has changed their minds, or that we have doubts that we didn’t have before, but we support a criminal investigation that has never happened. We think it is extremely important for the country and the world that we legally establish the causes and circumstances of his death, which occurred under extreme violence.” At the time of his death the family was never allowed to see the body, a closed casket funeral was 75 miles out of Santiago; his current resting place.

It will be very interesting to see the results that experts at the Legal Medical Service report in regards to the official's death. This exhumation will bring clarity to one of Chile's major historical events. It seems to be another step in Chile's effort to open politics to the public, giving their citizens access to more information.

Pilgrimage Despite Conflicts in the Middle East

The occurrences that I am going to relay today took place back in February. I know that it may seem to be "old news" but we were asked to provide information on how and if the revolts in the Middle East were affecting our chosen country and I find this story relevant to that topic.

I'm sure that most are aware of the 25 Chilean miners that were trapped underground for 69 days and rescued back in October. After being rescued the miners have been invited on many trips including going to Disneyworld in Florida and being the guests of honor of the Manchester United soccer team in Britain.

At the end of February, the group left for a week long visit to Israel accompanied by partners or family members. Arrangements for the group to tour Israel as guests of the Israeli government had been made prior to the upheaval in the Middle East and the current mayhem did not deter the miners. Many of them viewed the trip overseas as a pilgrimage, an opportunity to thank God for their miraculous rescue.

Jimmy Sánchez, the youngest of the Chilean miners trapped last year, and his wife at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem





The group toured the holy sites of the Old City in Jeruselam, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, the Dead Sea, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee,and the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

The trip was planned as a way to improve public relations and promote religious tourism to the area. Taking recent events into account I feel that a spike in religious tourism seems highly unlikely. I am even surprised that the miners did not choose to post pone their excursion overseas. For these Chileans the revolt and chaos in the Middle East was not of concern. I think it would be interesting to see if other citizens of Chile are still traveling abroad despite the current conditions.

Japan's Devestation Creates Concern with Proposed Nuclear Energy Program

Last Friday the United States and Chile signed an accord with the hopes to help the country develop a nuclear energy program. Chile imports nearly all of their energy and with hopes of bridging a predicted energy gap in the decades to come, have been considering constructing their our nuclear reactors.

The accord calls for cooperation in areas that deal with operation and utilization of nuclear reactors, safety,radioactive waste management and scientific exchange; with specific focus on the training of nuclear engineers.

Although, things have become complicated following Japan's devastating earthquake and fears regarding the spread of radiation throughout the Asian country. The recent disaster has reopened Chilean concerns regarding last year's 8.8- magnitude earthquake that destroyed cities throughout the country.

Chile's mining and energy minister, Laurence Golborne, signed a similar accord with France last month, but recently stated that the Chilean government will need to study the situation in Japan prior to committing to a nuclear program. He stated that due to recent occurrences the country may decide against investing in this type of energy. More sustainable renewable sources of energy are being considered in place of nuclear energy, such as, solar, wind, and geothermal. Chile is looking at Japan's destruction as a warning sign. They are taking into consideration that their country is prone to earthquakes and the construction of nuclear reactors could ultimately lead to a catastrophe of epic proportions.

While concerns are understandable, officials are troubled about what impacts the country's limited imports of energy and an outdated power grid will have on the growth of the Chilean economy. Chile's electricity demands have been steadily increasing at 6% each year and the country will need to double their supplies over the next 12 years if this continues. More than half of this will have to come from fossil fuels if nuclear energy is not part of Chile's future.

Media Regulation

I mentioned in a prior post that the BBC reported Chile ranked 33rd out of 175 countries and territories in respect to their level of current media censorship. This ranking reflects their lack censorship in regards to media.

Chile maintains a freedom of speech and press policy from which media outlets benefit. They are able to report current news, criticize government policies and officials, and report on controversial issues without the threat of governmental censorship or retaliation.

Relaxed media regulations allow for Chile's national and local television to operate along side many international affiliates. These positive aspects extend to Chilean internet usage, with 8.4 million citizens currently able to access the internet.

The majority of Chile's citizens are able to obtain current international news from a variety of media sources which has a direct connection to their democratic stance on freedom of press.

Traditional Communities Within Chile

The Mapuches are an indigenous tribe that originally inhabited the south-central parts of Chile. they are the largest ethnic group in Chile and make up approximately 10% of the population. The Chilean government did not officially recognized the Mapuches, their culture, or their language until 1993. Although the Mapuches suffered a fate similar to the indigenous tribes of the US, there is still a large population of Mapuches that live in Chile. Some continue to maintain their traditions, continuing to live in more rural areas surviving agriculturally and from the sale of textiles. T exile skills have been passed down generation to generation, mother to daughter to continue their treasured forms of traditional art.

Others have migrated to less rural areas trading in their agricultural roots for the city life. There is a large population of Mapuches residing in Santiago, the capital and largest city in Chile. The city life offers more opportunities for economic advancement than a traditional lifestyle.

There are roads being built through Mapuche areas, the forest is being felled in at fast speed and big power plants are being constructed in the rivers. Encrochments on traditional Mapuche settlements threaten their ancestral way of life.

All of these occurrences have brought more attention to the still surviving traditional communities. Many feel that there depiction within the media has perpetuated their simplistic, poverty stricken, lazy, drunkard stigmatic image the world holds of their ethnic group. this has caused many Mapuche to turn their back on their culture to avoid the discrimination that poor press creates. Furthermore, more and more parents are choosing not to teach their children the Mapuche language because it puts them at a disadvantage in school and understanding different media sources. It seems that to avoid the stigma of the Mapuche culture many individuals feel that assimilation would be the easiest route.

There is still hope!! even though many are choosing to assimilate into current Chilean culture and reject their ancestral roots, some have not given up the fight. Hungers strikes have taken place to draw attention to the need for more Mapuche rights, something that they have been fighting for for quite some time. hopefully these protests pay off and it is possible that they are able to use the media to change the views of their culture and people.

Who Owns the Media?

It seems like many countries Chile's media does suffer from conglomeration. It appears that the countries major media sources are primarily owned by just a handful of individuals. Agustín Edwards Eastman is the owner of the El Mercurio chain of newspapers which controls about 20 national and regional newspapers. While Álvaro Saieh heads the Consorcio Periodístico de Chile (COPESA) that controls the newspapers La Tercera, La Cuarta and La Hora, a radio network and the magazines Qué Pasa and Paula. These two individuals create what has been referred to in my readings as a "duopoly" within Chilean press. Additionally, there is Sebastián Piñera a presidential candidate for the rightwing Coalition for Change whom owns the Chilevisión television channel.

These three individuals are all part of conglomeration seen with in Chilean media. I find it extremely interesting that the owner of one of the oldest television stations, ranking 3rd in viewership in Chile would double as a presidential candidate. This is a perfect example of the risks that conglomeration can create, companies or individuals that are able to use their ownership to promote their own agendas through mass media. Interestingly in recent news, Time Warner has proposed the purchase of this station. So media ownership is shrinking even further with Time Warner, the second major media conglomerate in the world, getting their hands on one of Chile's major television stations.

Potential For New Trade Agreements??

On Sunday President Sebastian Piñera of Chile traveled to Israel to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the possibility of introducing negotiations for new trade agreements and tax laws between the two countries.

Prospects of these negotiations had previously begun with Chile's former president Michelle Bachelet. Although, it looks as though some Chile legislators plan to delay negotiations until Israel changes their policies with Palestine. The pro- Palestine legislators announced they would not be signing any free trade agreements between the two nations in the near future.

Legislators offered two arguments in support of their firm stance. First, no negotiations could be settled while Israel continues to have settlements in politically disputed territories. Second, some members of their legislation believe that signing a free trade agreement with Israel would be hypocritical considering the nation currently affects Palestine's ability to trade.

To alleviate some of the controversy, President Sebastian Piñera mentioned that countries such as Argentina and Brazil (that acknowledged Palestine prior to Chile) already had established free trade agreements with Israel.

Media Conglomeration An Overview

Media conglomeration is a growing trend for global media to be more concentrated in ownership. Media conglomeration affects who owns the media. It also affects how the media is produced, exported, the content, and the impact that it has on its audience. Through a series of different mergers and acquisitions media companies become part of much larger conglomerates that may actually represent all different forms of business. When minimal numbers of conglomerates own multiple media industries they fail to recognize what a nation’s public interests are and fail to provide proper media and news coverage for the area they are representing. The media becomes dominated by whatever will produce the largest profit for the conglomerate and the industry can become monopolized by the conglomerate’s specific interests. If a company is only looking to produce revenue then news runs the risk of becoming more sensationalistic, news that will interest the average individual. Air time becomes littered with reports of Hollywood stars, sex scandals, and celebrity rehab replacing international, political, and economic news reports.

Moving Forward With Globalization

In recent years, Chile has become one of S. America’s most stable countries. This stability has made way for their economic growth and rise in foreign investments. Currently, Chile has free trade agreements with approximately 50 countries which has allowed for businessmen to invest more than 40 billion dollars creating over 200,000 jobs for Chilean inhabitants.

Since the end of the 17 years Pinochet regime, Chile has been moving forward in the world embracing the beneficial aspects of globalization. Opening up their economy to free trade was just the beginning.

The U.S. Chile Equal Opportunities Scholarship Program was established to sponsor English and academic studies for Chilean PhD students who come from disadvantaged and rural areas that have not traditionally had access to English language schools or study abroad opportunities. The program has been quite successful, becoming a model for other international scholarships programs with Chile. In 2008 President Bachelet announced plans to increase funds to support sending students to study abroad, with hopes of sending up to 1,000 students that year. At least one- third of those prospective students reported hopes of going the United States.

As discussed in our class, globalization generally travels “from the west to the rest” and the United States and Chile most definitely highly interactive. More than 10,000 U.S. citizens reside in Chile and there are about 170,000 U.S. citizens that visit Chile annually. Beyond that over 66,000 visitor visas are issued to Chilean citizens that plan to travel to the U.S. At the U.S. embassy, the Public Affairs Section cooperates with universities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on a variety of programs of bilateral interest. The Public Affairs Section works daily with Chilean media focusing on bilateral and regional relations while also assisting with visiting foreign media, such as U.S. journalists. They work through the Information Resource Center, to spread information about U.S. policies, society, and culture.

Having all these interactions through free trade policies, foreign investors, international scholarship programs, and just travel I would assume has played a large role in Chile’s movement to a more globalized nation, while voluntarily adopting many of the United States cultural norms. Every time someone travels or interacts with someone from another country a transference culture has taken place.

This is also happening through Chilean media. Chile ranked 33rd out of 178 countries in media rights group Reporters Without Borders' 2010 world press freedom index.

Chile's national and local terrestrial TV channels operate alongside extensive cable TV networks, which carry many US and international stations.

Their constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the media, and this is generally respected by the authorities. The media maintain their independence, criticize the government and cover sensitive issues. Approximately, 8.4 million Chilean’s are internet users.

My First EVER...

I know that this does not apply to our class but i came across it while i was looking for information on Chile, and its such a beautiful description about the country that i will spend this semester talking about.
“After the world was created and all of the oceans were in place, the mountains, volcanoes, the rivers and valleys, Glaciers and Deserts, the Creator of the Earth had saved up left-over bits of all of the most beautiful and precious pieces, during the period of the Earth’s creation. The pieces he had were precious and rare. He wanted to put them in a very special location, far from the ravages of the rest of the world. He put together these most magnificent mountains, waterfalls, lakes, volcanoes, flowers, berries and dazzling beauty and peace filled the land. Rivers and valleys filled with many fish, plant and animal life all lived in peace and harmony. There were no poisonous snakes or truly dangerous creatures. He called his secret spot of joy, beauty and wonder Chile, which means ‘at the land’s end.’”

Prior to the 1973 military coup that created a 17yr. dictatorship, the press was highly politicized with five pro-government dailies and government owned publishing house. competing against this was the three dailies and regional papers of a conservative family owned group, El Mercurio.by the mid 2000s after many changes that were created because of the adopted neo-liberal policies of the dictatorship, Chile had a local press duopoly but also had foreign ownership in radio, television, and telecommunication services (like the internet) which differed from the customary regional model of media.
Chile has about 50 newspapers throughout the country. There is a very competitive newspaper market in Santiago, with about a dozen dailies to choose from. Chile produces media in German, French, Spanish, and English. The English newspaper, The Santiago Times, work in partnership with the CHIP, the Chile Information Project. & There are five nation-wide television stations based in Santiago. Televisión Nacional(Channel 7) is the only state-owned television station.
The radio is Chile’s farthest reaching mass media. The country boasts more than 140 radio stations. Stations broadcast to Chile’s most isolated communities.

Chile's media focus ranges from business, general interest, government, and sports.Chile seems to be very globalized and up to date in their media and i have yet to read about any restrictions on their media consumption.