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Public Television in Andean America: History, Ownership Changes, and Criticism from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru

Abstract:

This paper analyzes and describes public television in Andean America through the historical, hermeneutic, and non-participating observation method, carrying out a critical review of the literature, legal provisions, and official websites. The research reveals the appearance and precariousness of Andean-American public television, its financing, and particular administration forms. Twenty-four stations were identified as having evidence of public ownership, of which only eight are close to the principle of public service TV. There is little evidence of the existence of public service television because of the political-ideological control of the public media by the various governments, especially by populist regimes. Also, public television in the Andean region suffers from the cultural contamination of banal commercial content and infotainment.