Three W’s of in-depth journalism portraying socio-environmental conflicts in Chilean television: What (the agenda), who (the sources), and where (the locations)

Abstract

This article offers a case study of the Chilean investigative broadcasting journalism uncovering disasters and socio-environmental conflicts. Drawn from an analysis of 17 long-form stories aired by the two main television shows on current affairs in the country, we show that in-depth reporting on Chilean television was chronicling some of the most acute environmental issues since 1990s. Indeed, almost 13 hours of footage assembly a visual memory of conflicts in a society fueled by an extractivist based economy. It is noticeable a geographic diversity when covering the environment, as well as when covering waste production and pollution. Despite a relative diversity in sources, there is a sharp unbalance on gender representation. This article addresses the much-needed research on environment and communication while most of these studies pay attention to industrialized nations. It also contributes to building a situated knowledge considering the specificities of in-depth journalism in South America.