The article discusses articulations that are woven between the media, political and social fields in the case of social protest. It analyzes the cases of two strikes that occurred in Chile in 2010: the hunger strike of Mapuche prisoners and the strike of Farmacias Ahumada ́s workers. Both groups of protesters developed strategies to enhance media coverage of their protests, yet they never appeared in mainstream media outlets. The study finds that the reasons for these media absences relate to journalistic practices that exclude the voices of the less powerful, the direct and indirect commercial pressures on the media, the lack of pro-pluralism public policies and -on the macro level- to class prejudice. The article marks important shortcomings regarding the freedom of expression of those representing dissent in Chile.
Keywords:
mass media, invisibilized groups, social protest, freedom of expression, Chile
Sapiezynska, E. (2014). The Not Appeared: Social Protest Invisibilized by Mainstream Media Outlets in Chile and the Media Politics of Dissent. Comunicación Y Medios, (29), Pág. 156 – 170. https://doi.org/10.5354/rcm.v0i29.28393
