By Ingrid Bachmann
During the chaotic episode that began with the police and military protesting and ended in what President Rafael Correa called a coup attempt, Ecuador's media was forced to simulcast the official version of events via a forced link with the state's official channels, reported El Mundo.
With a single platform giving the official, "indefinite and uninterrupted" version of the news, Twitter and other social networks provided a way for the media, journalists, bloggers and citizens to share information about what was happening in the country. According to Maritza Sánchez, of Pulso Social, Twitter and social networks acted as both news media and information sources. "Live, all day long, these networks disseminated information in different tones, narrating the violent situations and uncertainty the Ecuadorian people were living."
Even though the state of emergency did not include restrictions on dissemination of information, the newspaper ABC Color argued that the required simulcasting of the state-run network meant that nothing could be corroborated by independent sources. “There are a lot of senseless actions that haven't been clarified," the newspaper said.
Still, the local press highlighted the relative normality that had returned to Ecuador, according to El País.
Amidst the tension, Fundamedios reported that 12 journalists were attacked during the day's events, added Radio Sucre. The Ecuadorian Association of Newspaper Editors (AEDEP) also lamented the climate of violence in addition to the simulcasting of the state media, because it prohibited citizens from having "other versions of the facts."
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
