In many countries, television newscasts are increasingly relying on personalization and emotion exacerbation in their news coverage, arguably as a means to attract audiences. Such features are prominent in Latin American cultural products based on melodrama, such as telenovelas. While often deemed to be bad journalism, there is mixed evidence on the impact of such news treatment on knowledge acquisition, especially with audiences more attuned to these formats. Based on an experiment in Chile, this study tests the effects of melodramatic coverage on viewers' recall and comprehension of news items. Results show that melodramatic treatment favors recall, but not comprehension of data included in the news reports. Comparisons across news treatment by gender, age group, and socio-economic status suggest that rather than overall differences, specific demographic groups are more affected by melodramatic news.

In today's context of media proliferation and increasing access to diverse media content, it becomes necessary to address young people's motivation to consume information. Researching this age group is relevant given that adolescence is a key period in people's civic socialization. This study explores how 13 to 17 year old Chileans consume news, in a multiple-platform, convergent and mobile media context. There are few studies that focus on the information habits of this particular age group. Using a quantitative self-administered questionnaire applied to 2,273 high school adolescents from four different regions in the country, this paper analyses participants' news consumption habits, their interest in news, their perception about the importance of different topics, and their motivations to being informed. The results show that surveyed teenagers access information mainly via social media like Facebook, to the detriment of traditional media. These adolescents are least interested in traditional politics, but they think this is the most prominent topic in the news. Their motivations to consume news have to do with their wish to be able to defend their points of view and deliver information to others. Also, they think that their portrayal in the news agenda is both inadequate and negative. These findings suggest that the news industry has a pending debt with young audiences. RESUMENEn un contexto de proliferación de medios y creciente acceso a diversos contenidos mediáticos, se vuelve necesario examinar las motivaciones de las audiencias jóvenes para consumir información. El estudio de este grupo etario es relevante, dado que la adolescencia es un período fundamental en la socialización cívica de las personas. Esta investigación explora cómo chilenos de 13 a 17 años consumen noticias, en un contexto mediático de múltiples soportes, convergencia y cultura móvil. Pocos estudios se centran en los hábitos informativos de este grupo específico. A partir de un cuestionario cuantitativo autoaplicado en 2013 a 2.273 adolescentes en establecimientos educativos de cuatro regiones del país, se analizan sus hábitos de consumo, interés en las noticias, percepción sobre la importancia de los temas de la agenda y motivaciones informativas. Los resultados muestran que los jóvenes encuestados se informan principalmente a través de redes sociales como Facebook, en detrimento de los medios convencionales. El tema que menos les interesa es la política tradicional, que, a su juicio, es el que más aparece en las noticias. Sus motivaciones en el consumo informativo se relacionan con el deseo de defender sus puntos de vista y de transmitir información a otros. Además, estiman que su representación en la agenda informativa es inadecuada y negativa. Estos resultados sugieren una deuda pendiente de la industria informativa con los jóvenes.

El trabajo analiza el tratamiento que le dan a las noticias extranjeras dos canales de televisión chilenos (uno estatal y otro privado) en comparación con 28 noticiarios de 14 países. Las hipótesis de proximidad geográfica y cultural, y relevancia política y militar de los países retratados son el marco del análisis. Los datos muestran que la presencia de ciudadanos chilenos, principalmente deportistas (una forma de proximidad emocional) es el principal criterio que determina la cobertura de eventos internacionales. Se observa también una gran similitud entre ambos canales, que podría ser explicada por el ambiente de competencia comercial del sistema televisivo.

El siguiente artículo postula que la telenovela se vale de dos matrices para poner en escena la memoria nacional: la metáfora, que representa al pasado como el llegar a ser del presente, y la metonimia, que encarna traumáticamente los momentos conflictivos de la historia que no han podido sido incorporados narrativamente al discurso popular. Esta propuesta es parte del proyecto de investigación «Melodrama, subjetividad e historia: ensayos sobre la ficción cinematográfica y televisiva chilena en la década del 90» de los profesores Valerio Fuenzalida, Pablo Corro y Constanza Mujica.

Several studies have addressed the role of drama and emotion in television news, oftentimes regarding them as opposed to quality journalism. Such approaches ignore the cultural resonance of melodramatic features in television newscasts in regions like Latin America, and pay little attention to how newsworkers perceive dramatic news and melodramatic treatment of news events. Based on in-depth interviews with 14 news editors from four major Chilean broadcasters, this study taps into their insights on audiovisual language and melodrama in television news. The findings suggest a common perception among Chilean editors of audiovisual language as inherently dramatic-emotional and close. Emotionalization and personalization are described as a communicative potential of television journalism, and melodrama is framed negatively as an excess of emotion that damages information.

In March 2014, Turkish melodramas took Chilean TV screens, and thereafter Latin American screens, by storm. Since then, Chilean television has incorporated Turkish productions in its usual programming. Ten titles were broadcast during the first two years. Between 2014 and 2018, 40 melodramas were aired, and for the last two years they have occupied more screen time than fictions from any other country, including Chile. What are the reasons for the success of Turkish dramas in the Chilean context? What are the main challenges that Chilean and Turkish productions have been facing since the eruption of Turkish telenovelas?The methodology used in this research was that of a semi-structured interview which was conducted with 146 people in order to discover the reason for the appeal of Turkish telenovelas as compared with local melodramas that were broadcast at the same time. These interviews were used to build selection criteria for nine in-depth interviews.The results indicate that Turkish telenovela succeeded in Chile for various reasons. First, these telenovela produced an identification by contrast or opposition in the viewers due to the fact that the recognition of a distinct other affirms and assures one's own experience. Second, the novelty of showing places, characters, and stories that have not been seen before that were produced by an industry unknown to Chileans, resulted in the return of more classic dramas and narratives as well as melodrama aesthetic to the television screen. Third, the type of audiences of these programs grew and diversified thereby influencing Chilean programming. The results presented above suggest that telenovela must begin to utilize local characteristics more frequently in order to generate conditions for the global recognition of a Chilean production model.

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