La Plata radio stations during the pandemic: Analysis of three experiences from a Human Rights perspective (2019-2022)

Abstract

This paper studies access to and exercise of communication rights between 2019 and 2022, based on the analysis of three community, public, and private radio stations in the city of La Plata (Buenos Aires province, Argentina). Using a qualitative methodology that included semi-structured interviews (virtual and face-to-face) and documentary analysis strategies, the authors analyzed dimensions related to inequalities in the exercise of communication rights, obstacles to their fulfillment, and the public policies that emerged during that period to guarantee these rights. We conclude that the pandemic deepened inequalities regarding the enjoyment of diverse content in the local radio scene, while maintaining the centrality of communication in the hands of multimedia companies, even though audiences strengthened their ties to the three stations analyzed. In the absence of public policies aimed at community and private radio stations, we observed that stations with an institutionalized track record and ties to networks and regional and federal organizations had greater resources to cope with the pandemic. Obstacles to the exercise of communication rights are linked to the regressive policies implemented during previous years as well as to the lack of specific subsidies for the sector. As emerging markets, we observe transformations in work logic, especially in the production and broadcasting arenas, some of which are part of current routines.