Argentine president sends media reform to Congress

* Government in dispute with media group Grupo Clarin
* Ruling party to lose congressional control next year (Adds quote by former head of state regulator)
By Helen Popper Thu Aug 27, 2009 2:50pm EDT

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Argentina's president sent a media reform bill to Congress on Thursday, saying it would strengthen democracy by reducing the control of a handful of companies that dominate broadcasting. Many people in the industry agree with the need to overhaul broadcasting regulations drawn up during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship, to reflect huge technological changes, but the government proposal has sparked controversy.

President Cristina Fernandez, who has fallen out with the country's biggest media group Grupo Clarin (CLA.BA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and often criticizes news media, said the new broadcast law would challenge private companies' domination of the airwaves. "Freedom of expression can't become freedom to extort (and) press freedom can't be confused with freedom for press owners," she said in a speech at the presidential palace. "This bill is for every one of us who wants to live in a more democratic and plural Argentina," she added.

The reform bill, which Fernandez launched in March, would allocate a third of broadcast frequencies to private companies, a third to state broadcasters and the rest to nonprofit organizations such as churches and universities. It would also limit the number of licenses any one company can hold and aim to guarantee quotas for Argentine-made music, films and programs.

Leftist groups have welcomed the government proposal, but critics say the reform is ill-timed and politically motivated. "(This bill) was only agreed between people with the same point of view," said Julio Barbaro, a former head of state broadcast regulator Comfer. "They're looking for war with this bill ... I hope Congress doesn't vote on it," he told reporters.

Fernandez lost control of Congress in a June mid-term vote, but the newly elected lawmakers do not take their seats until December. It will likely be harder for the government to pass controversial measures when the new legislature is in place. Much of the suspicion over the government's motives stems from its spat with Grupo Clarin, one of Latin America's largest media conglomerates and the company that analysts say stands to lose most from the proposed reform.

The group's leading newspaper Clarin and television channel TN have become increasingly critical of the government, and Fernandez dealt another blow to the group by taking over soccer broadcast rights that had been owned by a Clarin partnership. Fernandez, who has boosted state control of the economy by nationalizing private pensions and the top airline, is suspicious of the traditional media like many leftist leaders in Latin America. (With additional reporting by Guido Nejamkis, editing by Vicki Allen) -- From Reuters
Community media animation from Argentina.

Mexico Approves Media Reform Bill

The Mexican Congress, today (September 12, 2007) approved a bill that requires broadcasters to provide up to 48 minutes a day freely to political parties for the purposes of running federal campaign ads. Parties cannot buy additional time, and are limited to time equal to what other parties receive. Mexicans broadcasters, a tight and powerful monopoly, aren't happy with the projected loss of revenue.

This is an extraordinary step forward for Mexican politics which in recent years has closely mimicked the failures of US electoral policy. Vincente Fox won the presidency in 2000 for the right-leaning, neo-liberal PAN Party breaking more than 60 years of one Party domination by the PRI party. Fox won partly from a US style campaign run with US political campaign advisers - a first in Mexican campaigns. Fox's successor, Felipe Calderon (also of the PAN) won the next presidential election in 2006 in what most observers believe to have been a stolen election over progressive candidate Manual Lopez Obrador. Calderon also had heavy support from US campaign advisers and ran the dirtiest negative-ad campaigns in Mexican history.

Rejection of Calderon is so strong that on Sept. 2nd he was prevented for the second time from giving his 'state of the union' address in Congress by dissenting parties. Broadcasters cut oppositional voices in Congress short and instead cut to a presidential statement delivered from another location. Today broadcasters sent their more popular television hosts to testify against the new bill - and of course carried their testimonies live nationally.

Hopefully the new campaign law will help move Mexican politics further away from the current US model having such a negative impact there. And hopefully the US Congress will take notice and follow the lead of Mexican lawmakers in standing up to the broadcasting lobbyists and ensure that democratic principles are protected - not likely, but we can hope.--Michael Eisenmenger

Of course there are rumblings in the mainstream press about this: "Electoral Bill Could Hurt Mexican Broadcasters"