The balance of power shifted following the events of September 11, 1973. General Augusto Pinochet assumed control of the government through a bloody coup that effectively silenced all media outlets, many of the Marxist media outlets for good (Buckman, 1996). Many journalists and newspaper editors were jailed or killed (Brett, 1998).

After the coup, newspapers aligned with the military’s position resurfaced, including El Mercurio, La Segunda, Ultimas Noticias and La Tercera. Allende’s governmental censorship of the media was replaced by Pinochet’s system of "self-censorship."

In 1980, Pinochet authored a new constitution, which severely restricted the rights of media outlets with dissenting viewpoints from the official government perspective. Although the language of the constitution actually promoted freedom of expression, it barred from publication all content that contained "offenses and abuses" to the society, including pornography, any reference to the Marxist ideals, images of Allende, interviews with exiled citizenry, reports of tortured citizenry or any reference to the possible fate of the thousands of disappeared citizens (Buckman, 1996). Any violation of these social standards would result in the immediate closure of the offending media outlet.

Throughout the 80’s the Chilean press suffered many closures by the military. A media outlet that was closed often received an unexpected visit from a truck full of troops, who would ransack the newspaper office and remove the editors. Closed publications included Analisi, Cauce, APSI, Bicicleta and Pluma y Pincel (Brett, 1998). Other publications, such as Hoy, were subjected to periodic closures, but were allowed to return to market, only to be closed again.

Of course, the atrocities of Pinochet’s regime towards the Chilean citizenry are well documented. Pinochet’s DINA, later reorganized into the CNI, was responsible for thousands of attacks against Pinochet’s political opponents, but was also responsible for killing 23 journalists between 1973 and 1990 and jailing at least 20 others. Of course, these injustices were in addition to the more than 400 journalists who were removed from the industry during the 1973 coup.

Background

Allende's Influence on the Media Environment

Pinochet's Influence on the Media Environment

The Chilean Press Under Civilian Democracy

Reference List