From state-governed to privatization: the democratization of the media an utopia? The contemporary example of media accountability in Chile and Venezuela (2000-2017)

Abstract

The debate between public and privatized media is well- known in media studies and a field of an experiment by several states and enterprises. As the media is a major actor, if not the major actor in public opinion shaping, it holds a strong power, issued by many academic discussions. However, still without the result for a truly democratic media system, leaving a question for the causation of this. Chile with a highly neoliberal economy and privatized media system, compared with Venezuela, a "pink- tied government" which has experienced a media transformation from privatized towards a public system, seem to be promising case studies in this manner, appearing as two sides of the same coin. In order to contribute to the debate if the democratization of the media is a utopia and evaluate the democratic level of both cases studies a media accountability model will be created, that should be universally applicable.