63 economic advantages for themselves rather than fighting for the truth. Clashes between the media and the government further contribute to a lack of public trust in Argentina’s press, and the economic barriers to entry make it difficult for nonprofit, local media outlets to stay afloat. The rise of the internet and social media offers a solution to amplify alternative voices that previously have been without an outlet, but neither solves the issue of Argentina’s high concentration of media ownership. In this article, I provide an overview of the media landscape in Argentina, explain how it got to where it is today, and offer recommendations to solve this threatening issue. The Dictator Following the death of President Juan Perón on July 1, 1974, his third wife and vice president Isabel Perón was appointed to lead the country of Argentina in his place. Her term, however, was short-lived, when Videla, whom Isabel had named General Commander of the Argentine army, led a coup that removed her from office in 1976. This forced transition of power marked the beginning of an almost eight-year military dictatorship under Videla, during which numerous human rights violations occurred. With Argentina set to host the 1978 World Cup, Videla scrambled to figure out how his country could avoid negative press coverage, especially with the eyes of the world set to be fixated on the South American country for three months. Videla used the ruse of a Dirty War to justify the disappearances of those he dubbed political dissidents. He claimed the country was under attack by left-wing terrorists, and his men kidnapped, tortured, and killed an estimated 30,000 Argentine citizens. Under Videla, it became common for outspoken individuals to be taken in the middle of the night by armed men and sent to detention centers where most of the torturing and murdering took place. Pregnant women were also targeted by Videla’s armed men, but primarily for their children. These detained women were tortured until they gave birth and killed once the child was born. The newborns were then stolen and illegally adopted by friends and relatives of torturers, as Videla created a system of generational punishment (Brysk, 1994, p. 679). The children grew up without any knowledge of their “dissident” parents, and they were integrated into the fascist society. These so-called terrorists, however, more often than not were students, journalists, or artists—anyone who spoke negatively of the government. Videla dubbed this operation the National Reorganization Process, also referred to as “el Proceso.” Many major Argentine media outlets, historically known for their sharp critiques of political leaders, uncharacteristically remained silent on the human rights violations occurring in Argentina. Because journalists were a significant target for Videla, many news organizations chose not to report on The Disappeared in fear for the safety of their employees. Videla’s pressure on the media, however, went beyond physical threats. Much of the equipment used for broadcast media, for example, was manufactured in foreign countries, meaning the government was able to control both the importation and distribution of the machinery (Wilhelm, 1991, p. 24). If a news organization needed replacement parts, it had to cooperate with the government, which meant reporting only on approved subjects. Despite these pressures from the government, some journalists chose to continue reporting on the disappearances and murders. One of these journalists was Jacobo Timerman, founder and editor of left-leaning news publication La Opinión. Timerman refused to comply with the government’s censorship orders, and he and La Opinión suffered as a result. Videla had troops sent to the paper’s facility to intimidate the staff, but Timerman continued to oversee the reporting of Videla’s terror. The troops returned and attacked a number of the staff members, with at least one also disappearing. As for Timerman, he was arrested and put in jail, and La Opinión was confiscated by the government (Wilhelm, 1991, pp. 22–23). Other, more cooperative, newspaper outlets, like La Nación, La Razón, and Clarín, benefited from not criticizing the dictatorship. One such benefit involved Papel Prensa, Argentina’s largest newsprint manufacturer. Papel Prensa was, and continues to be, operated as a public-private partnership in which
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0OTQ5OA==