Though I probably won’t be able to attend, there looks to be a very interesting conference in Quito this coming May. Here’s the write-up for those interested:
Media, Power and Citizenship in South America
FLACSO, Quito, ECUADOR
May 17 -18, 2012
Over the past decade, the rise of populist democracies in South America has taken place against a backdrop of growing corporate media opposition. The legitimacy of the governments of Bolivia, Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, and to a certain extent, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay has been questioned most harshly, not by elected oppositional political parties, but by media conglomerates acting as de facto powers. Ascribing to the same economic interests as many of the most powerful economic sectors, media corporations are assuming an unprecedented role of political opposition, influencing public opinion and setting their own agenda. There is a growing debate regarding the concentration and power of media in democracy.
New populist governments in the region, following social demands, have begun to respond to media power, often heightening existing confrontations, by debating and revising legislation on media ownership. This includes Argentina’s adoption of a law on Audiovisual Communication Services (SCA) in 2009; Bolivia’s promotion of the General Telecommunications, Technology and Communications Law in 2011; as well as the current debate concerning community media law in Venezuela and the extending the law for the social responsibility of television and radio (2004). Similarly, as the Ecuadorian government prepares to advance major media reforms, Quito is a particularly timely site for this discussion.
The aim of the conference is to bring academics, media practitioners and government together to debate new responses to neoliberal media in the context of post-neoliberal South America.
