The role of media in politics representations by Ger Palomeque

Seminar Paper 2 The role of media in politics representations German Palomeque Photography Winter Semester 2017/18 Mat. Number: 98324221 Raffaele Gallo (So M.A.)

Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 3 1.1 Ways of representation .................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Criteria of selection according ideological and economic preferences ........................... 3 2. The role of media in political representations........................................................................ 4 3. Media situation in Argentina ................................................................................................. 5 3.1 Brief explanation about the political situation in Argentina ............................................ 5 3.2 Clarín and Página 12 insights .......................................................................................... 8 4. Analysis of Página 12 and Clarin images ............................................................................ 11 4.1 Cristina Kirchner in Clarin and Página 12 ..................................................................... 11 4.2 Mauricio Macri in Página 12 and Clarín........................................................................ 15 5. Results .................................................................................................................................. 18 6. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 18 7. References ............................................................................................................................ 20

1. Introduction The role of media in political representation is a topic that has been studied by many scholars throughout history. While discussing my research with colleagues and friends, they agree that the lack of objectivity in media is something that always existed, exists and probably will always exist in our society. In this paper, I will unfold some facts of the political situation in Argentina, in order to understand why media could have a major importance in the sociopolitical life of a country. I chose as a case study the covers of two Argentinian newspapers: Página 12 and Clarín. In this essay, covers from both newspapers in the same day will be compared. In this way, one can see clearly how they chose totally different imagery to depict one reality. 1.1 Ways of representation Since 1930, Argentina has suffered from a regular rotation between democratic and authoritarian systems. This phenomenon weakened the possibility for many partisans of building strong communication structures, forcing parties to use media as the main communication channel in order to reach their audience and publish their political agendas (Waisbord, 1994). Given that media is the mainstream channel of communication between partisans and the public, the content that newspapers, radio, television and internet exhibit to the public shapes the image of the individuals that are displayed therein. Like Andrew W. Barret and Lowel W. Barrington (2005) did in their studies, I decided to analyse dailies rather than TV or web. In this media platforms, there are many other visuals that can interfere with audience perception, in

contrast

newspapers

where

the

images

have

major

importance.

In this paper, I will analyse the images of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Mauricio Macri on the covers of two dailies: Clarín and Página 12.

1.2 Criteria of selection according ideological and economic preferences Theoretically, journalism should communicate based on objectivity, in order to inform and unfold the reality without interfering in their audience’s ideological side. This basic statement, that is supposed to be a global standard for journalism, proves to be a problem that many countries experience.

Argentina is not an exception of this situation, having newspapers and media deeply influenced for many years by their ideological preferences and their personal interest (Waisbord, 1994). In order to write this paper, I collected information of many studies that have worked with the hypothesis that the visual messages displayed in media have a great impact on the perception of the readers in regard of the impressions they could have about certain candidate.

2. The role of media in political representations Media plays a main role in political representation. During my research, I found many studies that affirm the conclusion that the image displayed of a candidate in a newspaper, a magazine or in any other media, affects the people’s voting decision (Andrew W. Barrett & Lowell W. Barrington, 2005; Rosenberg, Bohan, McCafferty & Harris, 1986). In contrast to these studies, I will not analyse if the images displayed in the covers of Clarín and Página 12 interfere or not in the voting decision of the people. In this paper, I will analyse how the candidate’s appearance projected in media can shape the audience judgements of the person displayed; in this case that is Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Mauricio Macri. Andrew W. Barrett and Lowell W. Barrington (2005) affirm: “Visual messages about a candidate generated by newspaper photographs can alter potential voters’ views of that candidate’s personal traits, their overall impression of that candidate, and the likelihood they will vote for that candidate”. Nevertheless, they also admit that this theory cannot be fully proven as valid, because they performed test with certain groups of people and in a real election the results can be completely different, where the audience is affected by many other variables. Sigrid

Koch-Baumgarten

and

Katrin

Voltmer

(2010,

21)

affirm:

“Some studies suggest that policymakers respond to media coverage and public opinion (Molotch et al. 1987; Page and Shapiro 1992), while others emphasize their resistance to external pressure such as the media (Kleinnijenhuis and Rietberg 1995). Walgrave and van Aelst (2006) review 19 studies published over the last three decades that analyse media influences on policymaking. Of these, 12 reports strong or considerable media effects on policymaking,

while

seven

find

only

weak

minimal

impact.”

This is a polemic topic, with different studies and approaches. However, in this term paper I will try to use the case of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Mauricio Macri, as an example of how media could have a potential influence in the way that society perceives and builds her 4

public image. Andrew W. Barrett and Lowell W. Barrington (2005) state in their studies a fact that is important for understanding the impact of a corporation as the biggest instrument of information: “Readers of a particular newspaper are thus generally not exposed to one but rather to a series of favourable or unfavourable candidate photographs that can help to create a particular impression of a candidate and then reinforce that impression.”

3. Media situation in Argentina 3.1 Brief explanation about the political situation in Argentina Argentine politics are complex and require a deep analysis in order to understand them correctly. During this paper, I will be analysing other aspects that involved politics but I believe that a brief introduction to the historical political situation is necessary in order to understand the situation in an appropriate way. Essentially, after 1945, Argentina was polarized between two main political parties: “Peronistas”1, founded in 1946 as “Partido Justicialista” and “Radicales”2, founded in 1891 as “Unión cívica radical”. Since 1930 Argentina has suffered 6 military coups: 1930, 1943, 1955, 1962, 1966 and 1976. The one in 1976 was the longest, and quite different to the previous ones. During this period, the country had suffered many acts of human rights violation, including acts of kidnapping, torture, and murder. Having the excuse of preserve the Christian values from the communists and the spectre of Peronism, the armed forces begin interrogations and arrests in the name of national security. They prosecute Intellectuals, journalists, students, Jews, and also unarmed citizens. As a result, human rights groups estimated that more than 30,000 had disappeared during this period. This military coup ended in 1983, after losing a war against England, that had as an aim to retrieve sovereignty over the Falklands Islands (Catoggio, 2010). On December of 1983, Raul Alfonsin was democratically elected president, until 1989, when Peronist Carlos Menem assumed the presidency. It was a historic moment for Argentina: for first time in 70 years, the presidency changed from one political party to another. President Menem first tried to control inflation and stabilize the economy, which he did by adopting a series of radical measures including fixed parity between the Argentine peso and the U.S. 1

Peronism (Spanish: peronismo) or Justicialism (justicialismo) is an Argentine political movement based on the political ideology and legacy of former President Juan Domingo Perón and his second wife Eva Perón. 2 The Radical Civic Union (Spanish: Unión Cívica Radical, UCR) is a centrist social-liberal political party in Argentina.

dollar. Then, he engaged in a program to move Argentina's economy towards a liberal model. This plan included the privatization of the previously state-owned telecommunications company, the state airline (Aerolíneas Argentinas)3, railroads, oil conglomerate (YPF)4, and other utilities. As a result, large foreign investment came to Argentina, but only for a short period of time, improving in few cases the infrastructure and quality of service of those companies. His policies resulted in the highest unemployment rates of Argentine history and the doubling of external debt. Many corruption allegations were made during the Menem administration (Waisbord, 1994). According to Waisbord (1994), the public frequently ranked corruption as one of the most prevalent problems, apart from problems like hyperinflation, strikes, and poverty in different sectors of the country. “In recent polls, approximately 80% rate government corruption as high, 50% expect few changes, and more than 20% forecast an increase in corruption in the near future ("Encuesta", 1993)”. Fernando de la Rúa succeeded Menem as president in 1999 having a notoriously ineffective management of the country. He was elected with a popular mandate to restore the economy and crack down on the corruption of the Menem administration. Nevertheless, de la Rúa could not perform these tasks. He continued on the same economic course of Menem, which produced one of the deepest economic crisis that Argentina suffered in 2001, resulting in de la Rúa's resignation (Levitsky, 2000). Eduardo Duhalde's interim (2002-2003) was marked by the need to pacify the country and soften the impact of the crisis after the forced devaluation of the local currency, the peso, which had lost three quarters of its value in a matter of months. Duhalde politics had a mixture of traditional Peronist politics (in the form of a monetary subsidy for heads of families) and neo-Keynesian economic principles to stabilize the economy and bring peace to the streets (Ortiz, 2018). In May 2003 Nestor Kirchner assumed the presidency, aiming to rebuild the Argentine industrial base, public works and public services, renegotiating the operation of public services privatized by Carlos Menem and owned by foreign companies. His policies were accompanied by a nationalist rhetoric sympathetic to the poor. Despite the financial prosperity, there was no significant decrease in the number of people living in poverty, which 3

Aerolíneas Argentinas (English: Argentine Airlines), formally Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A., is Argentina's largest airline and the country's flag carrier. 4 YPF (Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales; English: "Fiscal Oilfields") is a vertically integrated Argentine energy company, engaged in oil and gas exploration and production, and the transportation, refining, and marketing of gas and petroleum products.

was 8 to 10 million people, or almost 25% of the country at the end of his presidency (Romero, 2013). When Nestor Kirchner’s presidency ended in 2007, his wife, Cristina Kirchner was elected with the 46% of the votes, becoming the first directly elected female president (and would later, in 2011, become the first woman re-elected to the office). Ideologically a Peronist and social democrat, she was a member of the “Partido Justicialista”, with her political approach being characterised as “Kirchnerismo”5. One of her first proposals as a president generated confrontation with the farming sector: sliding-scale taxation system for agricultural exports, so that rates fluctuate with international prices; a decision that led to a nationwide lockout by farming associations and a protest climate that was highly polarized (Willis, 2008). The rationalization that the new taxes would allow for a better redistribution of wealth, and keep down the food prices. Additionally, she nationalized private pension funds, and renationalized energy firm YPF. During her presidency, the country had strong relations with other South American nations, contrasting with a weak relationship with United States and the United Kingdom. She also continued her husband's human rights policies, and had a rough relationship with the press, particularly with “Grupo Clarín”. Néstor Kirchner died in 2010, and Cristina Kirchner was reelected in 2011 with more than the 51% of the votes. She established currency controls, and during her second term several corruption scandals took place, facing several demonstrations against her presidency. In the 2013 midterm elections her party lost the majority vote and failed to achieve the two-thirds majority necessary to amend the constitution to allow the president to run for a third term. In 2015, one party formed from several different groups, all united in opposition to Kirchner’s political party with Daniel Scioli as their candidate. This coalition was named “Cambiemos”6, with the main support from the “Radicales” party and Mauricio Macri as the candidate. With the 53% of the votes, Mauricio Macri was elected president on November of 2015. One of Macri's first economic policies was the removal of currency controls, allowing Argentines to freely buy and sell foreign currencies. Argentina has had a floating exchange rate since then, with intervention from its central bank (Mander & Politi, 2016) and the 5

Kirchnerism (Spanish: kirchnerismo [ˈkiɾ.ʃneɾ.iz.mo]) was an Argentinian political group formed by the supporters of the late Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007; and of his wife Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President from 2007 until 2015. 6 Cambiemos (Spanish pronunciation: [kamˈbjemos]; Spanish for "Let’s change") is an Argentine big tent [8][9] [10] political coalition created in 2015. It is composed of the Republican Proposal (PRO), the Radical Civic Union (UCR), and the Civic Coalition (CC).

Argentine peso was devalued by 30 percent. He also sold $16.5 billion in bonds to international investors, to make possible the payment of debts that Argentina had with hedge funds (Stevenson, 2016), in order to return to the international capital markets and strengthen the national economy, according with his neoliberal political alignment. Macri also reduced taxes for exportations, a measure that was celebrated for the agricultural sectors. We can see that Argentina went through diverse crises and political transformations: Dark periods with military coups at power, periods of democracy filled with corrupt governments, and a constant fluctuation of internal and international political decisions.

3.2 Clarín and Página 12 insights I chose these main dailies in Argentina as a case of study for two reasons: Firstly, both of these newspapers have had a major role in many scandals breaking out, in contrast to other newspapers. As Silvio Waisbord (1994) states in his studies: “Investigative journalism and muckraking, historically two rare goods in the Argentine news market, still remain sporadic and limited mainly to two newspapers that have become central agents in the formation of scandal politics in contemporary Argentina”. Clarin has been the best-selling Argentine newspaper for years. It is part of the media group “Grupo Clarin”. This group control 60% of the cable market and 25% of the internet market; It has ownership of 10 radio stations, six newspapers, a news agency and Argentina’s second most popular TV channel (Yaeger, 2014). Grupo Clarin represents one of the biggest critics of Cristina’s government. The conflict between Cristina and Grupo Clarin started at the same time that she become president. In order to a get better understanding of the relationship between Grupo Clarín and the government since 2008, I will describe the main reasons, and political decisions from Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner that affect this conglomeration group: *In March 2008, when Cristina raised the farming export taxes. Grupo Clarin is a principal organizer of ExpoAgro, the country’s largest annual agriculture fair, and it sided with the farmers on strike during the conflict that lasted 129 days (Barrionuevo, 2008). * In August 2009, Cristina decided to end the television broadcasting rights for all Argentine football league matches that till then where held by the Clarín Group cable channel TyC Sports. That contract was terminated and the tv broadcasts of all league matches were

available as Fútbol para Todos ("Soccer for everyone") with no cost through the internet and also in TV (Irigaray, 2009). * The Congress approved in 2009, a law limiting the concentration of media ownership. The aim of the law was to prevent the existence of conglomerates, making media more democratic. According to the opposition, the law’s aim was to dismantle Grupo Clarín. The law affects about 20 other companies but mainly Grupo Clarín. In December 2013, the law was upheld after years in appeals courts, and the media conglomerate is dividing into six smaller (Yaeger, 2014). * In 2007, one of the biggest companies that Grupo Clarin owns, Cablevision7, merged with their competitor “Multicanal”, reaching the majority of the cable market and internet in Argentina. They control 97% of the physical cable system in Argentina, and in this way, they have an advantage over their competitors who do not have adequate infrastructure to reach all their customers. In March of 2010, when Cablevision and Directv intended to increase their basic rates, the government used its regulatory power to impede this measure from the Clarin Group. In August 2010, a federal judge supported the government decision and prevented these companies from increasing their rates (Garbarz, 2012). There are more examples of the Cristina Kirchner government measures towards Grupo Clarín, and it can extend this term paper for many more pages. I believe that mentioning some of the most important milestones is vital to understand the situation between these two institutions. Página 12 was funded the 26th of May of 1987. With a modest design and about 10.000 copies, the daily started with 16 pages. Due to impact and success of the newspaper at the beginning, the daily was able to duplicate the number of pages a few weeks after it launched. Waisbord (1994) stated: “An appreciation of the emergence of the daily Página/12 in 1987 is central to understanding the emergence of scandal politics. It has had a remarkable impact on the Argentine political communication landscape: Other newspapers have adopted what is called a Página-12-like style, and the daily has become almost obligatory reading among policymakers (Vincent, 1992)”. 7

Cablevisión is an Argentine company that provides cable television and Internet services in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. It is currently owned by Grupo Clarin. It is the biggest cable TV provider in Argentina

During the 90’s, Página 12 completely objected to Menem’s neoliberal politics. They have published many articles regarding corruption during his presidency, like Swiftgate, Narcogate, Yomagate, Milkgate, among other cases of political delinquency. The conviction that an opposite attitude against the government will engage the audience and the internal muckraking spirit among the daily’s journalist, brought economic success and social recognition (Waisbord, 1994). However, Página 12 went through delicate economic situations. Being the government opposition sometimes became complicated: During the Menem’s administration, they received a payback from the government. They were accused of “Journalistic delinquency”, with demands against the daily and specially to Horacio Verbitsky, one of the main columnist. They also received threats during this period of cut state advertising in the daily, a major income that guaranteed freedom of speech spreading the budget among the diverse ideological journalistic groups (“Menem querelló a Verbitsky por injurias”, 1996). During the last semester of Macri’s government, Página 12 was affected by the distribution of the state advertising, receiving $3.206.000 in contrast to Clarín, that received 54.613.989,52 during the same period, something that forced this daily to cut out 3 supplements, in order to reduce the printing costs (Lijalad, 2017). In conclusion, we can establish that both newspapers have had a hostile relationship with the government. In case of Página 12, it is mostly because of ideological disagreements and the necessity of generate articles that provoke people engagement in order to be more profitable. On the other hand, Clarín prioritized economic and also political interest. They are part of a big corporation that has economic connections to dominant groups and state officials. They also control the majority of the media in the country, having in this way, a huge influence on public opinion.

4. Analysis of Página 12 and Clarin images 4.1 Cristina Kirchner in Clarin and Página 12 1)

Figure 1 (left). Clárin cover from 11th December 2007 Figure 2 (right). Página 12 cover from 11th December 2007

This two covers are from the day when Cristina Kirchner assumed the presidency. There is only a subtler difference between the two photos. In the Clarin cover, we can spot Cristina and Nestor, doing the traditional act of transferring the presidential baton. She looks calm and gratified, as does her husband behind her. In my opinion, there is not strong negative interpretation that can be spotted in this image. Also, the title is “neutral”, saying: “Education and social agreement, two objectives that Cristina had defined”. In the Página 12’s image, the message is not totally clear. On the right, we can spot part of Nestor Kirchner’s body: A little part of his face, both his hands tilted towards Cristina, and also a part of his upper body. His body language could be interpreted as sign of total confidence in the act of transferring the presidency to his wife. She has closed arms towards her chest and her eyes are looking out of the frame, expressing a feeling of not being easily 11

convinced of anything, having a strong connection with the cover’s main title: “I did not become a president to be a soldier of the Businessmen’s profitability”. In my perception of her

attitude,

she

looks

sceptical,

she

would

not

easily

influenced.

Figure 3 (left). Clarín cover from 11th December 2011 Figure 4 (right). Página 12 cover from 11th December 2011

These covers took place when Cristina Kirchner assumed the presidency a few months after being re-elected. I decided not to analyse the titles and the text of these covers, in order to focus on the photography field, analysing the images that these newspapers decided to display of Cristina Kirchner and Mauricio Macri. Nevertheless, I consider that is necessary in order to get a better understanding of the images, to at least know what the main headline is talking about. In the Clarín’s cover, the bigger title says, “Cristina re assumed with critics and no many announcements”. In this picture, one can observe the re-elected president with her daughter and the vice-president in the background. There is an obvious element to highlight in this image: her gaze. She appears disgusted while wearing and grabbing the presidential band. Even if the caption said: “Emotion. The president could not avoid crying after her daughter, Florencia, put the presidential band on her”, from my perspective that could not possibly be 12

what this image is representing. This placement and portrayal is not an ammature move. During studies performed by Todorov, Mandisodza, Goren & Hall (2005), they performed user testing, trying to prove the hypothesis that the facial expression of the candidate can interfere in the voting decision of the audience. While performing this experiment, based on user testing, they suggest that “rapid, unreflective trait inferences can contribute to voting choices, which are widely assumed to be based primarily on rational and deliberative considerations.” Página 12’s image of the same day is totally different. They chose a more realistic image of a president assuming the presidency. Her gaze transmits an emotional feeling, correlating with the image’s title that says: “I am not the president of the corporations, but the 40 million of Argentinians”. Página 12 also transmits the emotion of Cristina on her assumption day, but in a different way. Another aspect to consider is her body gesture. Cristina is opening her arms, something that according to Carol Kinsey Goman (2011) in her book “The silent language of leaders” is a signal of inclusion, candor and openness. Goman (2011) also state that hiding the hands, can make you look less trustworthy, and in this image, the president is display with her hands totally visible, a simple body gesture that could be interpreted as a sign of transparency. Both images were taken in the same political act, but the feeling of the place is not the same. A wider frame was chosen for Página 12’s shot, including more people in the image, conveying a feeling that the president is not alone.

Figure 5 (left). Clarín cover from 2nd March 2013 Figure 6 (right). Página 12 cover from 2nd March 2013

In this last analysis, it is possible to observe a similar situation. These covers are from the opening day of the legislative year, when Cristina announced many law projects that will be discussed over the year. Clarín’s cover title says: “Cristina announced that she will go ahead against the judges and the justice”. Having in mind the title and the fact that Cristina has both of her hands over her shoulders. According to Goman (2011), this type of body language could be interpreted as a sign of being erratic and overly emotional. The editors of this daily had chosen again a really closed frame, with no people in the background as a sign of support. Another aspect to consider, is that her gaze does not look relaxed, showing signs of tension and a conflict situation, as if she were desperate. Lastly, in this image the jewels she is wearing are positioned in a way that highlights them. A big part of the Argentine population emphasizes the lack of humility of Cristina Kirchner. She usually wears luxury clothes and accessories, something that seems to contradict her political inclination of equity in the wealth distribution. There is a much different approach in the Página’s 12 cover. Firstly, they have chosen a wider angle image where the president is being praised by a group of people: pieces of paper in the air, many visible people clapping, and supporting messages with the Argentinean flags can be 14

spotted. In my opinion, contrasting to Clarin’s cover, her gaze looks totally relaxed, giving a feeling of hope and positivism. The title is also quite different: “I truly want a democratic justice”. The title also has a huge contrast with the Clarín’s one, changing the way that the audience perceive the message of the same day speech.

4.2 Mauricio Macri in Página 12 and Clarín

Figure 7 (left). Clárin cover from 11th December 2015 Figure 8 (right). Página 12 cover from 11th December 2015

These covers came to light when Mauricio Macri assumed the presidency. As we can observe, in the Clarin’s cover the president looks cheerful, smiling to the public. He is holding her daughter in arms and her wife waving to the audience. The title says: “Macri promised to fight against corruption, and asked for consensus”. In the cover of Página 12, we have a completely different imagery. Macri is not with her family anymore, resulting to be just with the presence of the cameras at the back. Is not the same happy scenario as before, with the elected president by himself, and his gaze is not 15

looking the same as in the picture of Clarín. He is not looking joyful, and the fact that his hand is facing downwards and in a rigid position. This hand gesture, projects power and authority, aiming, in my opinion, to display him as a dictator.

Figure 9 (left). Clárin cover from 23rd November 2015 Figure 10 (right). Página 12 cover from 23rd November 2015

The day after that Mauricio Macri was elected president, the 23rd of November of 2015, Página 12 titled “One president, two countries”. It is clear that Página 12 is making emphasis that the ballotage was really even (51,4% - 48,6%), dividing politically, the country in two. In the Página 12’s image, we can observe the elected president celebrating his victory. There are many balloons around in the frame (Romero, 2015), something typical from his political campaign, where they make use of balloons and colourful logo, claiming themselves as: “The revolution of joy” (Adriaensen et al., 2016). We can also observe part of his teams in the background, and people taking photos of him in the foreground. In this image, the president looks contented and euphoric, with the arms and left hand opened, something that can be interpreted

sign

honesty,

allegiance

and

submission

(Goman,

2011).

The Clarín cover of that day, does not have many differences with the Página 12’s one, having the president contented, celebrating his victory accompany with his family, his teams and party supporters. There are not balloons in this image, but we can observe colorful papers falling alongside the frame. In this image, he is also displaying his right hand, having the same interpretation than in the previous paragraph. He looks cheerful but not as euphoric as the image in Página 12, expressing a feeling of self-confidence. Lastly, the title says: “51,4% Macri President - The ballotage puts an end to the Kirchner’s cycle”, highlighting the fact that they defeated the Cristina Kirchner’s political party.

Figure 11 (left). Clárin cover from 5th April 2016 Figure 12 (right). Página 12 cover from 5th April 2016

Lastly, I decided to analyse this two covers that took place the 5th of April of 2016. This day a scandal regarding a possible connection with the president and a company related to Panama Papers was revealed. According to Página 12, there is a society where he appears as a vice president. However, my aim in this paper is not to dig into the political field, but rather on the imagery displayed on these dailies. Página 12’s editor has chosen to display a close up image of the president, relating him directly with the Panama Papers conflict. There is a black background that makes a clear contrast with the title: “Another one”, in regards that this 17

society that might involve the president in a new scandal is not the only one. He does not look relaxed in this image, it is like if he would be trying to defence himself or explaining something. It was difficult to me while researching to find a cover that displays Mauricio Macri in both newspapers in the exact same day. He appears in many covers of Página 12 during his presidency, and in most of the cases, they are displaying the president with images as we can see on the Página 12 cover of this day. For example, in the cover of Clarín of this day, they chose to do not display an image of the president, using an image related to soccer and the situation of Lionel Messi with the Spain justice.

5. Results One of the main aspects to consider as a result of analysis, is the transformation that can be spotted in the Clarin’s covers. The image they chose to display in 2007, when she assumed, is much different to the ones they chose to display in 2011, when she was re-elected, and in 2013. I believe the clearest example is the photo from 2011: Cristina was assuming the presidency again and they have chosen an image where she has certain repugnance on her gaze. Regarding the Página 12’s covers, I did not notice a considerable change towards the images they chosen, with a clear inclination for Cristina Kirchner politics, choosing always the photos were Cristina was giving a good impression. Still, due to the limitation of images analysed, I am not entitled to give an extent conclusion. Further analysis can be performed, retrieving all the covers from this two dailies with Cristina Kirchner in the cover, including a deep analysis of the titles content.

6. Conclusion Media always interfere in the political situation of a country, not always being objective and being influenced by their political and economic preferences. But I believe that Argentina had experienced a complex and unique example of how a media conglomeration can interfere in society: There is a huge polarization towards the political inclination of each person in my country. There is a huge part of the population being “K” or “Anti K”. However, this is phenomenon, in my personal opinion, cannot just be attributed to the media. Cristina Kirchner have had during her presidency, plenty of political measures that for many institutions like church, companies, farmers and others influential sectors of the society were polemical or confrontational. There are also many causes of political frauds during her presidency, and she 18

is still being processed for this motives in the justice. An important aspect to be consider, is that I just analysed and put in evidence just few examples of how newspapers could have a political inclination. This could be easily recognized depending in how the title a political episode or news, and the images that they decided to include in their covers. But in this case, the influence that Grupo ClarĂn has in the society goes beyond of just a newspaper. They represent, as I said before in this paper and as they state in their website8, the biggest media group in the country: having the most sold newspaper; a partnership with several regional newspapers in the provinces; One of the main television channels in Buenos Aires; their own radio station network; the leading cable television distribution system; many cable television signals; newspaper paper production, in which is a partner from the state; movie production companies;

news

agencies

and

Internet

service

provider

(Becerra,

2010).

In conclusion, I want to make emphasis in how dangerous is for a country a media corporation. Despite corrupted politicians and military strikes, that sadly my country had suffered during the history, it is important to consider the role of media in society. They are able to influence the society according not just their political tendency, but their economic interest. I believe that when the information become a huge business, it could be extremely harmful for a society, changing the future of further generations.

http://www.grupoclarin.com/ir

7. References Online sources Adriaensen B., Andermann J., Bollig, B., Fabry G., Feierstein L., Forné A., Kraniauskas J., Perassi E., Sartingen K. & Scavino D. (2016). Macri’s Argentina: The Rubber Bullet Revolution.

Retrieved

March

2018

from

Medium

Website

https://medium.com/@observatorio/macri-s-argentina-the-rubber-bullet-revolution4012171aa041 Barrionuevo, A. (2008). Conflict With Farmers Takes Toll on Argentina. Retrieved 5 March 2018

from

The

New

York

Times

website

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/world/americas/24argentina.html Catoggio M. S (2010). The last military dictatorship in Argentina (1976-1983): the mechanism of state terrorism. Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence. Retrieved 9 February

2018

from

Online

encyclopedia

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violence

website

https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/lastmilitary-dictatorship-argentina-1976-1983-mechanism-state-terrorism Garbarz, A. (2012). ¿Cómo se termina con el monopolio de Cablevisión?. Retrieved 25 February 2018 from Infonews website http://www.infonews.com/nota/35420/comose-termina-con-el-monopolio-de-cablevision Irigaray, J. (2009). Argentina verá el fútbol gratis. Retrieved 12 March 2018 from El Mundo website http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2009/08/21/comunicacion/1250806276.html Lijalad, A. (2017). Clarín se lleva la mayor porción de la pauta de Macri. Retrieved 15 February

2018

from

Nuestras

Voces

website

http://www.nuestrasvoces.com.ar/investigaciones/clarin-se-lleva-la-mayor-porcion-dela-pauta-macri Mander B., & Politi D. (2016). Macri raises hopes for Argentina's economic renewal. Retrieved

February

2018

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Financial

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