By Maira Magro
The Argentine government spent $27 million on broadcast TV advertising in 2010, and 67.5% of the funds went to Canal 9, the most watched channel in the country, La Nación reports. According to Clarín, opposition lawmakers have called for an immediate investigation into government spending on ads.
Another leading Argentine broadcaster, Telefe, received the second largest portion of spending at 16.7%. In a climate of tension between the largest private media companies and President Cristina Fernández’s administration, the opposition has complained that the executive is using public money to favor outlets that support the government, La Razón explains.
In response, the Argentine cabinet chief, Aníbal Fernández, accused Clarín and La Nación newspapers of falsifying the advertising numbers, the state news agency Télam adds.
Deputy Silvana Giudici, who presides over the Freedom of Expression Committee, told Clarín that “2011 will be the year in which we will pass a law for the transparent distribution of government advertising.” According to Perfil, there are nine pending bills in Congress on this very issue.
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.
