Like its verdant terrain of rivers, lakes and extensive forests, 67 percent of the region of Los Ríos in southern Chile is made of news “forests” or “semiforests.” This means there are reasonable conditions for practicing journalism and opportunities for communities to be informed.
“There is varied and fairly solid media coverage, thanks to a relatively well-functioning digital infrastructure and the strong presence of radio, which reaches even the most remote corners,” Sebastián Gallardo, director of the native digital media outlet noticiaslosrios.cl, told LatAm Journalism Review (LJR).
Illustration of the Chilean map for the News Deserts study. The orange areas represent the news deserts. (Screenshot)
While Los Ríos is a positive case for news in the South American country, it is unfortunately not the norm.
A recent study led by the Gabo Foundation found that 47.5% of all Chilean communes – the smallest units of land in the country – are news deserts, and 26.1% are semi-desserts.
These “arid ecosystems” are places where the conditions for practicing journalism are inadequate, as reflected by the lack of resources, but also by the coverage provided by the few outlets that do exist.
"There are no conditions for people living in these communities to access information that is of local public interest," Alberto Arellano, director of the Center for Research and Journalistic Projects (CIP, for its acronym in Spanish) at Diego Portales University, told LJR. He led the study for Chile along with journalist Francisca Skoknic.
The larger Gabo Foundation study also looked at the information landscapes in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Chile had the highest percentage of news deserts.
"We knew we were going to collect a significant number of deserts, understanding that there is tremendous centralism regarding the functioning of the media in Chile and that this centralism, even at a more microscopic level, is also replicated in the regions," Arellano said.
Since this is the first time this research has been conducted at the national level in Chile, Arellano emphasized the importance of making a diagnosis that will allow us to "stop the media desertification" of the country and convert it into "more forested" lands.
The idea for the study came about after the Gabo Foundation published El Hormiguero, a study that mapped Latin America’s digital native media. It showed the vitality of media ecosystems, but also the "deep gaps" in access to quality information, Miguel Montes Camacho, programs director at the foundation, told LJR.
To conduct this study, the CIP contacted 26 researchers representing Chile's 16 regions. They were able to identify 802 news outlets that, among other requirements, had to publish relevant local news of local public interest at a frequency of at least twice a month.
Since the study's purpose is to identify news deserts, municipalities within the Santiago metropolitan area were not included. They were presumed to be news forests since the headquarters of the main media outlets are located there. However, researchers included the peripheral communes of the metropolitan area.
One of the main findings is that just about 25% of all Chilean communes have media outlets that meet minimum requirements for citizens’ local information needs.
"What's happening in the deserts?" Arellano asked. “Disinformation is rampant, and public institutions, in general, aren't subject to much oversight—the role of the media. So, it's a problem not only from the perspective of people's access to information, but also from the perspective of the health of democracy.”
While the findings have yet to be studied in detail, the research identified an economic crisis for media, which could explain the presence of these deserts.
"At a structural level, Chile has also been characterized by having very weak policies to promote and financially support media outlets, from a public policy perspective, and that is something that could likely be contributing to this," Arellano said.
Along these lines, media might rely on government advertising or on advertising from large corporations, Arellando said. For example, in mining-dominated regions, corporations tend to dominate advertising.
“We realize that in some regions, the media is very dependent on local authorities,” Arellano said.
The economic crisis is also leading to job insecurity. Although most media outlets reported that their workers have open-ended contracts, researchers also found that volunteer work is quite high.
While this isn't the ideal, Arellano said it demonstrates the importance people place on journalism.
"The importance and vocation of journalism is very useful, especially in regions that are highly fragmented and dispersed," Arellano said.
Another relevant finding concerns the role of radio, whose adaptation and persistence have made it the dominant local medium in Chile. According to the study, 42% of media outlets broadcast via radio.
"Although it is known that it has historically played a leading role in both urban and rural areas in informing Chileans, what is new is that [radio] continues to maintain that privileged role despite the advances of digital platforms," the study notes.
In the dispersed region of Los Lagos, for example, radio becomes the unifying factor, according to the study. In the south of the country, Los Lagos has a diverse geography that includes lakes, fjords, forests, and coastal areas, including the Chiloé archipelago. Nearly 30% of the population lives in rural areas.
Due to its rugged geography, media creation is difficult, the study said. Fifty percent of its communes are information deserts.
Patagonia Radio is one of the media outlets that attempts to meet information needs, and to that end, it has evolved with technology and adapted to other forms of content delivery. Founded in 2004 as an online project, today it defines itself as a multimedia outlet meaning it has also incorporated television. "The first media outlet in the region to do so," Cristian Hurtado Salas, director and general manager of Patagonia Radio, told LJR.
Puerto Montt, in the Chilean region of Los Lagos. (Photo: Courtesy Patagonia Radio)
Based in Puerto Montt, the regional capital, and with a team of five journalists, the outlet covers politics, the economy and local industries, such as agriculture. In addition to its FM frequency, the team transmits through digital platforms and even has agreements with cable operators to extend its signal throughout Chile.
For Hurtado, the biggest challenges in coverage are economic. He said there is unfair competition between some media outlets for advertising, but labor regulations also make formal hiring difficult. However, Hurtado is convinced of the important role of journalism.
“We understand that information and journalistic oversight play a role in the democratic health of a society,” Hurtado said.
While the regional study reveals the "structural crisis of journalism," it also offers 16 recommendations organized into four thematic areas: strengthening sustainability, promoting journalistic quality, ensuring security and protection, and covering local power.
Karen de la Hoz Rodríguez, director of the study, told LJR that its review would be of great importance. “Beyond the very stark picture, we would like to highlight the study's recommendations section, with some guidelines for organizations working to strengthen local journalism.”
Launch of the news deserts study. (Photo: Fundación Gabo)
For example, recommendations include pilot projects lasting 6 to 12 months in areas considered deserts or semi-deserts, including training and resources for implementation. It also suggests support for individual projects with tools to reduce costs and administrative burdens, as well as offering training on access to public information.
As for Los Ríos, study leader Alberto Arellano thinks the case of this region could lead to a “hopeful” conclusion.
“[In Los Ríos] there is a tendency toward a news forest, which could be good news. It could be examined closely to see what circumstances or variables intervene there so that that particular region is much greener than the rest,” he said.
Gallardo said his media outlet noticiaslosrios.cl was born in 2014 amid the rise of the digital revolution with the goal of covering the region "from its smallest communities" and not just the capital.
"We believe that local stories also deserve a central place," he said.
The outlet – which typically employs one or two journalists – covers a variety of topics: from social development and education to political and police beats. In the last year, Gallardo said, they have also strengthened investigations because “transparency is fundamental in social, administrative and political management.”
Yet, despite the progress for the news landscape in the region, Gallardo says there’s still work to be done.
“There will always be isolated communities or families that don't receive the necessary local or national information, and as long as that happens, the task will not be fully accomplished.”
