A Sign of the Times:Television and Electoral Politics/Argentina
A SIGN OF THE TIMES: TELEVISION AND ELECTORAL POLITICS IN ARGENTINA, 1983-1989 Silvio R. Waisbord Working Paper #190 - January 1993 Silvio R. Waisbord is currently finishing his Ph.D. dissertation for the University of California, San Diego; his topic is “Unplugged Party Lines: Political Parties, Communication, and Election Campaigns in Argentina, 1983-1989.” In the spring semester 1992 he was a Residential Fellow at the Kellogg Institute. ABSTRACT This paper examines the use of television as a political campaign tool in the 1983-1989 elections in Argentina. Campaigns were conducted against the background of a national television system that was subject to both commercial and political pressures. Initially, politicians’ lack of experience in exploiting the medium led to a scramble for air time right before the election. Within a few years, television became the dominant form of political communication. Political candidates soon developed more sophisticated approaches to television campaigning, but failed to reach a deeper understanding of how television could facilitate the interaction between political parties and citizens in a democracy. RESUMEN El presente trabajo analiza el uso de la televisión como instrumento de campaña política en las elecciones de 1983-1989 en la Argentina. Las campañas se llevaron a cabo con el trasfondo de un sistema nacional de televisión sujeto tanto a presiones comerciales como políticas. Inicialmente, la falta de experiencia de los políticos en el uso de este medio de comunicación condujo a una rebatiña por el tiempo en el aire justo antes de la elección. Después de unos pocos años, la televisión se convirtió en la forma dominante de comunicación política.
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