This article posted in 2012 details a mexican protest surrounding two key issues at the time. The first is the President. The second is Televisa - the massive Mexican media conglomerate. The protestors were enraged due to the corruption of the media and the television "news" organizations favoring the President - a bias that was not coincidental. The President has been accused of paying off news organizations for favorable coverage.
One of the most important features of a healthy and functional democracy is a diverse, honest, and informative media. This was the simple demand of the "Mexican Spring" – a democratic protest if there ever was one. They had trouble spreading the word of their movement initially however. The very institutions they were protesting were also responsible for their fair and accurate coverage. Unsurprisingly, Televisa did not cover the democratic protests.
Here is the importance of the internet. Lacking in mainstream coverage, the movement needed to rely on "alternative" means of mass communication. Through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other independent media the protests were able to get the word out considerably more effectively than if they were to rely on traditional media.
“The Internet is a danger for democracy,” these are the words of Jean-François Copé, the French politician. What can I say that will convey the depth of Copé's confusion, and the vital importance that the internet has on today's democracies?
No comments:
Post a Comment