A Study on Homogeneity between Editorials and News Sources Opinions in the Chilean Reference Press

Abstract

Journalism is expected to nourish democracy through the contribution of publicly relevant contents. The ability of the citizens to discuss socially significant matters depends on the availability of ideas, opinions and factual background data that contributes to knowing and making sense of the contingency from the most varied perspectives possible. Considering that the concentration of the press ownership in Chile is said to be emblematic, the objective of this paper is to systematically analyze Chilean reference newspapers to establish whether El Mercurio SAP and Copesa SA companies are a duopoly that attempts against the aim of democratic journalism. Methodologically, this is a comparative content analysis of stances taken in editorials and news stories in five newspapers to establish if these media tend to select news sources that coincide with their points of view. It reveals that the hypothesis of intra-media homogeneity cannot be sustained overall or systematically in Chile. However, the media analyzed tends towards a similar behavior in terms of intra-media homogeneity, as Chilean newspapers tend to behave in a similar way.