Bringing together all parties with an interest in the Latin American media industry in order to discuss the biggest challenges confronting the field is a daunting task, but that's what a group of journalists, civil society members, regulators and other members of the media sector dared to accomplish late last year.
The Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) at the National Endowment for Democracy and German media development organization Deutsche Welle Akademie recently released the report “Media in Latin America: A Path Forward,” a summary of the discussion and findings from the “Free and Independent Media in Plural and Diverse Media Systems” conference.
The conference, which was held in Bogotá in November 2015, was organized for groups from various media sectors to come together and discuss the biggest problems with media development in the region, said Don Podesta, manager and editor at CIMA who also authored the report.
More than 130 civil society and media watchdog NGOs, broadcast regulators, academics, media industry representatives, government officials and others participated, according to the CIMA report.
Attendees talked about topics including regulation of media, ownership concentration, media diversity and pluralism, investigative reporting and accountability as ways to strengthen democracy, impact of the digital age on journalism and right to information, according to the conference program.
One of the biggest tasks in front of those in attendance was recognizing the biggest challenges to the Latin American media environment.
The first major problem identified concerns concentration of media control by both the government and the private sector, according to the CIMA report.
“Concentration of media ownership leads to a stifling of voices and lack of diversity of coverage. And when the media owners are in league with business and political elites it can serve to disenfranchise citizens and help entrench those elites in power – the opposite of the watchdog role that media is supposed to play in a democratic society,” the report reads.
It also said that media ownership in Latin America “is arguably the most concentrated in the world.”
Gustavo Gomez, director of Uruguayan media monitor Observacom, was quoted: “We need laws and policies to reverse the concentration that already exists.”
Attendees also called for fair and transparent regulation “to preserve diversity, pluralism and a level playing field for new investors, particularly in broadcast media,” according to the report.
Edison Lanza, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, talked about the need for regulation to be independent of political and economic interests, according to the report. Media concentration and its effect on democracy has been a particular concern for the Special Rapporteur.
Potential solutions to the regulation issue could include the publication of guidelines for how outlets can qualify for licenses as well as guidelines on how media can be fined, Podesta said. Oversight also must be implemented so that laws are followed.
Podesta added that regulation could be used to address the bigger problem of media ownership concentration.
The final challenge involves finding ways for independent media to be sustainable.
“Ensuring sustainability not only means the economic health and viability of new media properties, but also new investment in digital and mobile delivery of news and information and maintaining an open and competitive marketplace that allows new entrants to gain a foothold,” the report said.
Regarding advertising, the report referenced the move from traditional outlets to the Internet and competition with international news media and social media. Physical attacks against journalists were also identified as threats to viability and sustainability.
Despite these challenges, the report noted the success stories of investigative news digital media sites, like La Silla Vacía and Animal Político, which can produce “quality journalism in the public interest at a fraction of the costs.”
According to the report, as a result of the conference, media watchdog organizations released a declaration calling government attention to the problem of media ownership concentration.
Podesta said CIMA plans to take the conference findings to parliaments and congresses and then to replicate the process in other regions of the world.
CIMA organized the Bogotá conference with nine partner organizations, including Deutsche Welle Akademie, the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, UNESCO and others.
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.
