Democracy and the Media in Argentina: Press and Kirchnerism

Abstract

Mass media are a priority factor when measuring the quality of democracy in a country. They contribute to promoting dialogue and participation among citizens as they act as a fourth estate by denouncing irregularities. In recent years, however, certain factors have provoked these mass media to lose the social function they were intended to fulfil. Starting from this premise, the objective of this research entitled "Democracy and mass media in Argentina: press and Kirchnerism" is to verify the relationship that exists between the quality of democracy and the situation of mass media in Argentina during the Kirchner period (2003-2015) and the relation that exists between the political, economic and social context, as well as the contribution of mass media to democracy. For this purpose, six chapters have been proposed, including a theoretical contextualization, a content analysis, a practical analysis based on in-depth interviews and finally some annexes that complement the four theoretical sections included in chapter two. Precisely this second chapter contains the political, economic and social context of Argentina in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the role of mass media in the country during that time, an approach to the fundamentals of social communication that are directly related to the subject of research and a theoretical review focused on the measurement of quality of democracy based on criteria related to mass media. The third chapter presents an analysis that illustrates the main quality indices of democracy and the role played in them by the media, focusing on the evolution of the 13 years under research and on the specific case of Argentina during Kirchnerism. This analysis is complemented by our own research based on in-depth interviews with experts in democracy and media, Argentine journalism and Media Law.