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2007 Assessment

Argentina: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Argentina: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Media
Indicators		Score
5	Are media and free speech protected?	100
6	Are citizens able to form print media entities?	94
7	Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities?	63
8	Can citizens freely use the Internet?	100
9	Are the media able to report on corruption?	92
10	Are the media credible sources of information?	70
11	Are journalists safe when investigating corruption?	100

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are media and free speech protected?

5a: In law, freedom of the media is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: National Constitution, Article 14. www.infoleg.gov.ar

5b: In law, freedom of speech is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: National Constitution, Article 14 www.infoleg.gov.ar

Are citizens able to form print media entities?

6a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a print media entity.

Score:

100

Comments: There are no barriers against creating print media entities. There are no registered cases of political interference at the national level.

References: Interview: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007 Interview: Florencia Bianco, Poder Ciudadano / Infocivica, Aug. 15, 2007

6b: In law, where a print media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked.

Score:

YES

Comments: A print license is not necessary.

References: National Constitution, Article 14 www.infoleg.gov.ar

6c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: There is no need for a license.

References: Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007 Interview: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007

6d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: It is not necessary to obtain a license for print media.

References: Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007 Interview: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007

Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities?

7a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a broadcast (radio and TV) media entity.

Score:

100

Comments: The formation of broadcast media groups is possible, although there is some burden on the media group, including overly complicated registration or licensing requirements. There are also some restrictions coming from economic investors. In 2007, a news cable channel (C5N) went on the air. The main owner, who used to have a critical view on government policies in the past, has changed his attitude towards government officials since 2006.

References: Interview to Florencia Bianco, Poder Ciudadano / Infocivica, Aug. 15, 2007 Interview to Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007

Peer Review Comments: In Argentina there are five open tv channels. The "Ley de Radiodifusión 22.285" (Broadcasting Law 22.285) was approved during the last military dictatorship (1976-1982). Civil organizations, politicians and professional investigators agree that it is necessary to write a new law. It's only possible to open a tv cable channel. Radio frequencies ara saturated.

7b: In law, where a broadcast (radio and TV) media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked.

Score:

YES

Comments: Offerers may present impugnations before the selection process is finished. However, the administrative process does not offer an appeal mechanism. The judicial process is guaranteed by the national constitution.

References: Decree 286/81 Law 22.285

7c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The lack of transparency in many licensing processesmay open a window of opportunities for corruption or pressures on the solicitor. There might be political interferences which will delay the process. The licensing time might be quicker or slower depending on the lobbying capacity and political connections of the solicitor. The process is very connected with the business and investment climate in general. There are no registered cases in which a license was denied.

References: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007 Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007

7d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: National licensing is concentrated in the national capital. This might put some restrictions on small and medium-size broadcast media from other cities.

References: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007 Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007

Can citizens freely use the Internet?

8a: In practice, the government does not prevent citizens from accessing content published online.

Score:

100

Comments: There is total freedom of online contents.

References: INDEC, 2005, "Accesos a Internet" (official report) [ LINK ]; ISOC.AR [ LINK ]; Secretaria de Medios. Sistema Nacional de Consumos Culturales. Third report, 2006 [ LINK ]

8b: In practice, the government does not censor citizens creating content online.

Score:

100

Comments: 25 percent of Argentine citizens use the internet. There are no registered cases of inernet censorship by the government. Citizens use Web blogs to publish critical information, or to vote for social claims (See www.greenpeace.org: "The Case of Forest Law").

References: "Blogs: una explosión en cadena que no se detiene", May 5, 2007 [ LINK ]; D'Alessio/IROL, "Internet en Argentina, 2005/6" ([ LINK ]); Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007

Are the media able to report on corruption?

9a: In law, it is legal to report accurate news even if it damages the reputation of a public figure.

Score:

YES

Comments: The right of freedom of speech is guaranteed by the national constitution. If a piece of news is not accurate, the affected party can go to court.

References: National Constitution, Article 14 www.infoelg.gov.ar

Peer Review Comments: Calumnies and damages are included in the law "Lley orgánica 10/1995". The affected can go to the Courts invoking articles 206 and 208.

9b: In practice, the government or media owners/distribution groups do not encourage self-censorship of corruption-related stories.

Score:

100

Comments: In the past year, more corruption related-stories have been published. Some tend to see this explosion of corruption stories as a phenomenon related to national elections. In recent years, it was not usual to see corruption stories in the national media. Some NGOs have revealed the potential use of official advertising and licensing as a potential way to cut the freedom of speech. Asociacion por los Derechos Civiles has documented some auto-censorship cases in provincial media. Freedom House qualified Argentina as a partial free country. Some years ago, it was classified as totally free. This drawback is related to attitudes and statements of high public officials against the press and its role in democracy.

References: Freedom House: www.freefdomhouse.org; Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2006

Peer Review Comments: My impression from talking to Argentine journalists and representatives of NGOs is that in the past few years there has been even more self-imposed censorship than under Menem. Again, the main tool is the cancellation of government advertising, which has increased tremendously under the outgoing administration.

9c: In practice, there is no prior government restraint (pre-publication censoring) on publishing corruption-related stories.

Score:

100

Comments: There are no registered cases at the national level.

References: Interview: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007; Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007; FOPEA. Foro de Periodismo Argentino www.fopea.org

Are the media credible sources of information?

10a: In law, print media companies are required to disclose their ownership.

Score:

YES

Comments: Experts on media ownership have shown that Argentina has higher media ownership concentration than the average in Latin America. The four main operators in print media, open TV and cable dominate more than 75 percent of the market. [ LINK ]

References: Law 19.550

10b: In law, broadcast (radio and TV) media companies are required to disclose their ownership.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law 19.550

10c: In practice, journalists and editors adhere to strict, professional practices in their reporting.

Score:

100

Comments: The NGO FOPEA that gathers journalists throughout the country is implementing a Code of Ethics for its members. There is no general Code of Ethics regulated at the national level.

References: Code of Ethics. FOPEA. November, 2006. [ LINK ]; Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007

Peer Review Comments: Journalists and editors in Argentina are to close to bussines and far away from the search of truth. Nevertheless, independent journalists have little chances to fight. Media owners are the true responsables of this problem. Newspapers, tv channels and radios are in hands of three important groups.

10d: In practice, during the most recent election, political parties or independent candidates received fair media coverage.

Score:

100

Comments: Candidates leading public opinion polls tend to have more media coverage. In general there is no balanced coverage in TV and radio. Another fact that might be disbalancing coverage is related to candidates buying advertising time and space. There seems to be a connection between adverstising and coverage. This situation is worst at provincial levels.

References: Interview: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007 Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007

Peer Review Comments: My impression from covering the election was that President Kirchner made sure that his wife got all the attention possible and used government funds to squeeze out the opposition. It is also well known that the outgoing president during his term in office has threatened TV and printed media editors with the withdrawal of government advertising if such media had even mild negative coverage of his policies.

10e: In practice, political parties and candidates have equitable access to state-owned media outlets.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007 Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007

Are journalists safe when investigating corruption?

11a: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no journalists imprisoned related to work covering corruption during the study period. A YES score is positive. NO: A NO score is earned if any journalist was jailed because of his/her work covering corruption during the study period. The causal relationship between the official charges and the journalist\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the journalist was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Interview: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007 Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007; FOPEA. Foro de Periodismo Argentino www.fopea.org

11b: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Interview: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007; Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007; FOPEA. Foro de Periodismo Argentino www.fopea.org

11c: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of journalists being killed because of their work covering corruption-related issues during the study period. A YES score is positive. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases where a journalist was killed in relation to his or her work covering corruption-related issues in the study period. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s work may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is a reasonable guess that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Interview: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007; Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007; FOPEA. Foro de Periodismo Argentino www.fopea.org