The media in the Chilean transition to democracy : context, process and evaluation (1990-2000)

Abstract

Since the end of the military dictatorship in 1989, Chile's prolonged and arduous transition to democracy has continued. It has been more than a decade of political and social processes, full of uncertainties, doubts and compromises. It has been a transition marred by the political and economic remnants of the military dictatorship, by a highly restrictive and authoritarian legal and constitutional system, and by a political class, and, for a long period unable to introduce truly democratic changes. The dynamic of the Chilean transition has had a deep effect on many sections of the Chilean society, especially the media, traditionally one of the key spheres of public debate. The underlying argument of this work is that the Chilean transition to democracy, a political and economic phase achieved by negotiation and compromise, was not accompanied by the establishment of a more democratic, pluralistic media system. This thesis examines, from a multidisciplinary perspective, the context, the process and the development of the media during the first decade of the transition to democracy (1990-2000). Its fundamental objective is to understand the relationship between journalism, the media and the democratic political processes in a post-dictatorship society.

Date of Award	2006
Original language	English