Newspapers and Radio After the Revolution in Mexico: Changes in the Media - Research Paper Example

Introduction: Mexico is located in the central part of the American continent bordering the Caribbean Sea and sharing borders with United States, Belize and Guatemala. The country was under Spanish rule for three centuries before getting independence in the early nineteenth century. The country has experienced turbulent political and social atmospheres after attaining independence. The media including the press in Mexico has been compromised by large-scale violence and criminal activity. There has been continuous friction between the government and the media for a long period. The press laws in the twentieth century as well as the governmental changes have given hope for the containment and development of the role of media in the country. With additional help coming from the NAFTA, there is hope for a bright future for the media. The media in Mexico has been in locked horns with the government and the drug mafias for a pretty long time. Change in governments did not result in shift in policies towards the media. The passage of the 2002 freedom of information act however was a remarkable turnaround for the media. The act helped journalists to obtain government documents which were denied to them for generations. Moreover entry of more young and professional media men into the scene and migration towards hi-tech sources have somewhat changed the scenario of the media in the country. However these did not make a change in the attitude of the government towards the media. For most of the part in the twentieth century, the media was dominated by government officials and directives. The practice of bribery was rampant. The PRI government routinely spied on the media men through the influence of the national intelligence agency. To make things worse, the media people had only little professionalism and lacked high education. The media profession in those days was considers dangerous. Police, military, drug lords continuously threatened the media and even assassinated the media men. Fortunately the election in the year 2000 was a turning point for the media. The prospect of openness among government departments and government officials was expected. The private media also took active steps to cash the situation and engaged in more objective journalism during the period. The autocratic system under the Spanish rule that ruled for three centuries opposed the establishment of the free press. The political scene in Mexico was dominated by a small elite class and the Catholic clergy. They prevented the media form freely expressing the ideas. Throughout the nineteenth century, in spite of political instability, the media pleaded for a free press with the authorities. They cited the popular US newspapers as models that were worth emulating. The laws passed in 1850’s checked the criticism of the media towards the government. Many Mexican presidents shared the attitude of closing newspapers and imprisoning the employees. Before the Mexican revolution of 1910, the government and the church successfully bribed the journalists in Mexico. This was made easy because the journalists were poorly paid. After the revolution, things started to change. A number of new newspapers started. During the 1920’s and 1930’s radio became a popular medium in the country. This medium was considered as an alternative medium by the people. However the ruling presidents gave licenses to start these radio stations to their wealthy friends therefore criticism towards the government was still non existent. The PRI party which ruled Mexico for seven decades used the media including the television media as a quasi public relation stations. During those days the media boasted of not meeting any official censorship, but the ironical fact behind this claim was that all these media houses were managed by friends of the ruling party. These owners were wealthy and had no reason to promote changes. Moreover they even threatened to lead a redistribution of wealth. The Mexican media was continuously filled with ‘gracetillas’ which means advertisements from the government and contained false propaganda that was sponsored by the ruling presidents. These advertisements were a main source of revenue therefore the media did not stop resorting to such advertisements. The most influential newspaper in Mexico is the EL Universal from Mexico City. This paper was promoted to highlight the ideas of the Mexican revolution. The newspaper implemented the latest technology and was in the forefront of the fight between the media and the government. During the 1980,s it succeeded in ending the monopoly of the government on newsprint. The newsprint industry of the country was handed over to the government owned PIPSA in 1935. Its monopoly was created to supply newsprint at lower prices. But this was misused by the government and was used as a political weapon against the media. PIPSA would punish media houses by delaying newsprint and supplying inferior quality if they carried negative stories against the ruling PRI party government. However the company lost its monopoly in the year 2002. The laws framed in the country for regulating the media had a biased approach. They were totally inconsistent. The friends of the ruling party were able to avoid these laws and critics were subjected to continuous legal difficulties. Even though there are laws in Mexico to protect and safeguard the interests of the media, the media continues to get harassed from time to time. Article 6 of the 1917 constitution stipulates that expression of ideas shall not be subject to any judicial or administrative investigations unless they offend the good morals or infringes personal rights or incites crime or disturbs the order of the public. The Article 7 of the constitution stipulates that freedom of writing as well as publishing is inviolable. The Article 4 of the constitution stipulates that the radio and television media is part of public interest therefore the state should supervise their function. This power with the state is misused by continuing governments for their selfish interests. The government does all the type of encroachments into these types of media citing this article of the Mexican constitution. The newspaper coverage in Mexico is monitored closely by senior government officials. This practice was common in the early 2000’s despite the fact that these newspapers were read by mostly the urban public and the elite class who favor the government. Media houses in the private sector operate according to unwritten rules like refrainment in criticizing the government and the president. Some media giants in Mexico have little fear for the laws but they are run by people who are friends with the ruling party. Their journalists attend prestigious events including foreign trips with the president. Most of the advertising is purchased by federal departments and its agencies. The relationship between the state and the press was always turbulent. Even though the press in Mexico is protected by constitutional laws like Article 4, 5, 6 they are least obliged by the state. The law purports the press to be free from all undue influences. But in actual practice this is not true. During the 1980’s and 1990’s, a dozen of media men were murdered in Mexico. Hector Felix, Victor Manuel, Jorge Martin, are some of the prominent news persons who were murdered with the help of criminals having support from corrupt officials in the police and the military. Steps to prosecute these criminals also did not materialize any further. However when the Fox administration took charge in the country, there was little hope that the relations with the media and the state would improve (Hallin. 2010). The Mexican political system was one of the most effective systems in the world because of its power in administration matters and longstanding capacity. The media is also unique. Like most of the countries in Latin America, the media was not fully developed. Although the country was among the pioneers in introducing television in the world during the 1950’s, the development was too slow when compared with world standards. Major Television Company in Mexico, the Televisa was under the control of the PRI government. During the periods of the PRI hegemony, the media was integrated into the structure of power. This policy of the government is regarded as the main cause of the vulnerability of the media that is facing even today. The development of the media in Mexico was influenced by its most powerful neighbors in the north. The media accepted the North American model of system. It carried advertisements of North American products to a larger extent. . Even the media was subsidized by the American government during the Second World War. At the same time the media in Mexico was far from appendages of the North American media industry. Most of the Mexican scholars points this due to the influence of outside sources but places the emphasis on the power relation within the country (Lawson.2002. P61-157). In all countries the mass media is am important part of the system of political power. This is very much true in the case of Mexico. Journalism in the country is traditionally ‘oficialista’, which means official or state sponsored. Most of the political coverage’s in Mexico is based on political press releases. Most of the stories, no doubt would be favorable stories of the ruling party. In a study conducted by Ilya Adler in 1993, on newspaper dailies in 1984, out of the total stories, 123 were favorable to the government and 14 were unfavorable. There were also 211 stories favorable to the president. All this shows the undue influence of the government vested in the media. The Mexican president who is elected for a period of six years is treated as beyond public criticism. When the critical stories appear in the newspapers, it can be attributed due the internal conflicts among factions in the ruling party. The press in Mexico has a very limited circulation. The mass public in Mexico considers television as the most important tool of political communication. Studies in this area confirms that nearly 50to 75% of the Mexican public use television as their main source of political information. 10-15% read newspapers and radio and the rest other sources. The other side is that Television in Mexico is the least open form when compared to other sources. The main channel Televisa’s news division until recently served as a significant contributor to promote publicity for the ruling PRI. It purely acted as an ideological state apparatus. The political character of the television medium was particularly obvious during the election campaigns of 1988. In 1988, the ruling party faced the toughest challenge in Mexican election history when a faction under the leadership of Cuatemoc Cardenas broke away from the ruling party to form another party. During the election widespread malpractices were committed to ensure victory for the ruling party. The official channel Televisa devoted more than eighty % of its time and coverage for the ruling party. Fewer times were spent for other party. This shows the biased approach of television media in Mexico. During the next election conducted in 1994, Televisa gave much important to the opposition but still its coverage to the ruling party was filled with colors and enthusiasm and those on the opposition were seen colorless. Televisa’s manipulation of coverage significantly contributed to the victory of the ruling party. The biased approach taken by such influential media houses can be associated with many reasons. One among them was due to the influence of the authoritarian political culture prevailing in Mexico. The biased and non ethical approach of the media in Mexico is due to many reasons. As in the example mentioned above where the official and most popular television channel becoming patrons of the ruling elite class. Like in many parts of Latin America, the political situation in Mexico is characterized by a strong and relatively autonomous state and a weakly developed private sector and civil society. This was due to the influence of the Mexican revolution. The autonomy of the state is very strong in Mexico. There is less direct participation by business in the ruling party. The media is deferential to the state and highly dependent on it. The newspaper industry is integrated into the clientelist system like other sectors of the society. They receive continuous benefit from the state in return for their political loyalty. This argument is totally true if the following example is analyzed. In Mexico there are around twenty five newspapers having a combined circulation of around 731000. How can so many newspapers survive with a fewer number of readers, when the readership percentage in the country is very low compared with television. These newspapers survive due to the patronage they receive in the form of advertisements, articles etc given to them by the government and its agencies. The patronage given by the prime television company Televisa in Mexico had wider implications. All media and broadcasting policies were framed by the government were to satisfy Televisa needs rather than considering the other important factors. This strategy is clear if this example is analyzed. In 1980, the Morecelos satellite was launched. The interpretation given by Mexican scholars on this incident clearly speaks the ultimate truth. However in general, the state has a passive role in developing broadcasting regulations when compared with other countries like North America and Europe. During the 1940’s, the then president, Miguel Aleman rejected the recommendations of an advisory committee that television be set up according to the public service models. An approved the introduction of commercial television. He left the office and invested in one of the television networks which later became part of Televisa. As argued earlier, the relationship of Televisa with the state is not comprehensible when it comes to state censorship or guidance. The relationship reflects the interpenetration of the political and economical elites as well as convergence of interests between them. It also reflects a great concentration of power in private hands. Conclusion: The unusual relationship between the state and the media in Mexico has resulted in some consequences that are not favorable for a civilized society. For some time in Mexico the media had good relationships and sometimes not so good. Some parties of the media receive undue benefits and the others are ignored. Even today the situation has not changed completely even though steps for initiating changes are in the process. The policy of the government to encourage to all those present in the media who supplements their actions and to suppress all those who oppose them have to be changed first. The media should be relatively made free from all governmental interpretations and regulations. More private partnerships should be encouraged and adoption of civic policies should be encouraged. The media in Mexico should be always in the forefront of fighting the evils in the society like bribery, drug mafia etc. More subtle ways of variety of relationships with the state and the media should be thought of. As in the case of Mexico, the liberal perspective would be ideal in redefining the relationship between the state and the media. Moreover development of the media markets can play a crucial role in the process of active and fair democratization which is the real problem of Mexican politics. Providing the media an economic base separate from the state along with incentives for responsiveness to popular tastes and opinions would definitely improve the state and media relations (Park&Curran.p6-122). References: Hallin.D.C. 2010. Political clientelism and the media: southern Europe and Latin America in comparative perspective. Lawson.C.H. Building the fourth estate: democratization and rise of the free press in….California: University of California press.2002.P61-157 Park.M.J&Curran.J. De-Westernizing media studies. London:Routeledge. 2000 Read More