Technological development of online media in Latin America. The case studies of emol. com, clarin. com, prensalibre. com. and jornada. unam. mx

Type Journal Article - Journal of Latin American Communication Research
Title Technological development of online media in Latin America. The case studies of emol. com, clarin. com, prensalibre. com. and jornada. unam. mx
Author(s)
Volume 2
Issue 1
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2012
Page numbers 3-36
URL http://alaic.org/journal/index.php/jlacr/article/viewFile/46/40
Abstract
The development of the information society, globalisation and technology has generated a process of
adaptation in news companies. The technological evolution has produced notable changes in the
production, distribution and reception of information. Not all media companies and countries have faced
this reality in the same way. Many have been conditioned by the economic and political issues that
determine this process. In the case of Latin America, there are differences that respond to the
development level of the different countries and regions, and this highlights the existence of a digital
divide. Based on four case studies, this article addresses the technological evolution experienced by four
online news media companies from different Latin American countries: jornada.unam.mx (from Mexico),
prensalibre.com (from Guatemala), emol.com (from Chile) and clarin.com (from Argentina). The
objective of the study is to measure the impact of technology in journalism throughout Latin America in
order to detect the structural differences. The study is based on the answers of the directors of the
aforementioned online news media companies to a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory interview. The
interviews took place between March and June 2011. The analysis of the results shows that there has been
a remarkable progress and adaptation to the needs of the Latin American Society in recent years, but that
there are also differences in terms of development levels according to the economic situation of the
different countries, which conditions these companies’ forecasts for their technological investment and
innovation in the near future.

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