The institutional dimension of the Latin American regional media system.

Abstract

The article examines the political aspects of the formation of international specialized nongovernmental organizations in the field of mass media in the Latin American region. In particular, the example of the Inter American Press Association, the International Association of Broadcasting, and the Ibero-American Telecommunications Organization shows how the imbalance of global and regional information flows, the processes that determined the foreign policy of the countries of the region and the international relations of that time in general, as well as the situation with the assurance of freedom of speech and media activities have determined and determine now the key tasks of the Latin American regional media system development. In particular, it has been shown that one of the most important reasons for creating that associations was to counteract the restrictive policies of some countries in the region, and the willingness of governments to use the mass media to address domestic and foreign policy objectives. It was found that the initiators of the establishment of regional institutions in all cases were Latin American media organizations themselves, which suggests that the need for such associations was and remains urgent and that their creation was an attempt to answer the challenges to Latin American regional media system, and to join efforts to strengthen Latin America’s "voice" outside the region. The consultative status of these institutions at the United Nations Economic and Social Council points to their credibility and weight. The core of all associations is cultural unity based on the Spanish language, which allows to speak about these institutions as Ibero-American or even Hispano-American. Proactive reaction to the processes of convergence of mass media on the basis of the Internet platform indicates the dynamism of these associations and their willingness to transform in accordance with the realities of the development of mass communications and regional and global information space.