Mass media in Bolivia
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In the mass media in Bolivia there are nearly 200 privately owned
The Bolivian constitution protects
History of the Bolivian media
Radio service began in Bolivia in 1927. Two years later, the country's official broadcaster
Bolivian governments historically recognized the political significance of the media and
After 1982 freedom of the press developed as an important byproduct of the democratization of Bolivian politics.
In the early years of democratic rule, the monopoly enjoyed by Channel 7, the state-run television station, represented the greatest obstacle to freedom of the press.[2] Until 1984 Channel 7 was part of the patronage distributed to partisan supporters.[2] Although the Siles Zuazo administration respected freedom of the press in other media, it used the station to further its political agenda and barred the establishment of privately owned stations.[2] The Ministry of Information argued that television was a strategic industry that had to be kept under state control.[2] After several rounds with the opposition in Congress, the minister of information refused to issue permits for the opening of private television stations.[2]
Despite government restrictions, the media experienced a tremendous boom in the mid-1980s.[2] The growth and proliferation of party politics generated a concomitant expansion in the communications industry.[2] Newspapers, television, and radio stations mushroomed during the 1984-85 electoral season. Some forty-seven public and private television stations were in operation by 1989.[2] One of the great surprises was the presence of six channels in the city of Trinidad, Beni Department, which had a population of fewer than 50,000.[2] In short, democracy had magnified the importance of the media in Bolivian politics.[2]
In 1989 daily newspapers reflected the general pattern of ties between party politics and the media.
The oldest newspaper in Bolivia was El Diario, with a circulation of 45,000.
El Mundo, with a circulation of 20,000, emerged as one of the most influential daily newspapers in Bolivia.[2] It was owned by Osvaldo Monasterios, a prominent Santa Cruz businessman.[2] This newspaper was commonly identified as the voice of the ADN.[2] A similar observation could be made about Última Hora, formerly an afternoon paper that had been circulating in the mornings since 1986.[2] Mario Mercado Vaca Guzmán, one of Bolivia's wealthiest entrepreneurs and a well-known ADN militant, owned Última Hora.[2] This newspaper had hired outstanding academics to write its editorials.[2]
Perhaps the most politicized of all newspapers in Bolivia was Hoy, owned by Carlos Reich Serrate, an eccentric politician who also owned Radio Méndez.[2] Serrate demonstrated how the media could be utilized to achieve electoral advantage.[2] Through Hoy, which had a circulation of 25,000, and Radio Méndez, Serrate made huge inroads into the rural areas of La Paz Department for the VR-9 de Abril, his political party.[2] The only other newspaper of significance in Bolivia was Los Tiempos, a Cochabamba daily with a circulation of 18,000.[2] In the 1970s, Los Tiempos had been the leading newspaper in the interior, but it was bypassed by El Mundo in the 1980s.[2]
Like the printed media, private television stations reflected the positions of the major political parties in Bolivia.[2] By the same token, the political line of the owners was often reflected in the news broadcasts of each channel.[2] This situation was particularly true in La Paz, where the city's eight channels, including Channel 7 and Channel 13 (the university station), were tied directly to political parties.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Country Profile: Bolivia" (PDF). Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. January 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au Gamarra, Eduardo A. (1991). "The Media". In Hudson, Rex A.; Hanratty, Dennis Michael (eds.). Bolivia: a country study. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. pp. 205–207. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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: CS1 maint: postscript (link)