#203 Media Dependency and Political Perceptions in an Authoritarian Political System: The Case of Chile's Left
By Pablo Halpern
From the Introduction
Most of the academic research on the notion that the media play a role in shaping political perceptions has been done in Europe and the United States in the context of democratic political systems. The extent to which these research findings can be generalized to other societies is not known, and only limited efforts have been made to understand the relation between political perceptions and media consumption patterns under authoritarian political systems. This study attempts to assess the relationship between media dependency and political perceptions in an ideologically monopolized media environment. Chile was considered an appropriate case study since the country was ruled by a right-wing military dictatorship between September 1973 and March 1990. During that period, various forms of censorship and repression of the media dominated the production of mass communications.
Related Program
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
