Are the indigenous media community media? Experiences of native peoples’ media practices in Argentina

Abstract

The study focuses on indigenous radio practices in Argentina under the implementation of the 2009 Law 26.522 on Audiovisual Communication Services, currently undergoing reform. This pioneering law recognised indigenous broadcasters, thereby satisfying the call of indigenous organisations, during the legislative process, for their right to ‘communication with identity’ to be included. Nevertheless, we believe that the application of the law has been weak overall, and that the legal definition of media is questionable. Furthermore, we have hypothesised that indigenous media are caught between de jure public ownership and de facto communal belonging. This hypothesis derives from a comparative analysis of the Argentinian legal framework and similar reforms implemented throughout Latin America, as well as from a dialogue between international studies on community media and the literature on indigenous media. In order to determine whether and in what terms indigenous media can be considered as community media, we carried out semi-structured interviews with key informants from indigenous communities who had been authorised to broadcast under the law’s implementation. We explored the genesis and objectives of their communication projects; programming and agendas; external relationships; internal organisation (with a focus on the sustainability strategies adopted); respondents’ definitions of ‘community communication’, ‘indigenous communication’ and ‘communication with identity’; and respondents’ opinions on the application of the law and its media definition. We found that many indigenous broadcasters in Argentina act as community media and resemble them ontically – that is to say, in how and why they remain in the (mediatised) public space. Nevertheless, indigenous radio is ontologically different from community media because it is often shaped by its ethnic identity, namely, who the indigenous peoples are and how they represent themselves in the (mediatised) public space.

Reclaiming the narratives: Situated multidimensional representation of underserved Indigenous communities through citizen-driven reporting

“…Their perspectives are excluded from societal discourse on political issues that directly affect them – perhaps most apparent in environmental issues like climate change. The exclusion and misrepresentation also leads to struggles for visibility, identity and community autonomy (Belotti, 2020; Pietikäinen, 2003; Rodríguez and El Gazi, 2007; Roosvall and Tegelberg, 2015).…”

Can an indigenous media model enrol wider non-Indigenous audiences in alternative perspectives to the ‘mainstream’

“…Indeed, Indigenous media is clearly differentiated from alternative/community media because of its concerns with self-determination and Indigenous identity. However, both Ginsburg (1991) and Belotti (2020) have noted similarities in their study of Indigenous and alternative media. Ginsburg (1991), in identifying Indigenous media by its militancy and cultural stance against unequal power relations within settler nations, notes its similarity to community media.…”

“…Ginsburg (1991), in identifying Indigenous media by its militancy and cultural stance against unequal power relations within settler nations, notes its similarity to community media. Also, Belotti’s (2020) study of Indigenous and community alternative media found similarities in approach to selecting programme content. Firstly, there was programming with a specific political and cultural focus for its target audience, and secondly, there was content with a more general critical or non-mainstream approach that appealed to a wider audience.…”

“…Hence, the programming takes a more hybrid approach to attract a range of audiences. In the same study Belotti (2020) highlights both community and Indigenous media as ‘incorporating an ideology of struggle that backs social change to overthrow the hegemonic structure of media production, distribution and consumption, and calls for active participation on the part of audiences’ (Belotti, 2020: 18). While community media can sometimes be seen as radical it is more often (self) defined as ‘alternative’ because of its marginalisation by public and commercial sectors and a bottom-up and grassroots ethos.…”