Newspapers and news outlets incorporate traditional features like letters to the editor and opinion columns. These go through a selection and editing process within the organisations. “We check the newspaper’s mailbox regularly. We have a journalist in charge of this and our other social media communities online”, explained an editor.
Meanwhile, radio stations stand out for being the most inclusive when it comes to citizen’s voices. For example, Radio BioBio airs calls from listeners narrating events as witnesses around the city, such as traffic problems. The radio stations also use WhatsApp audio messages after careful scrutiny by the team in charge. “All audio messages go through two filters, first by a producer and then by an editor. We care about length as well as language. We select those that express an opinion, and leave out those that send insults”, said a journalist from Radio Cooperativa.
WhatsApp and phone calls are also a news input for media, especially when it comes to photos and videos; however, editors fear misinformation. The checking and processing of such content is more important for editors and journalists than running after an exclusive; therefore, it is not aired without going through several checks and filters. Editors are also very critical of participation through comment sections in the news. According to them, these do not add any value to the conversation, but instead contribute to attacks and polarisation (see Indicator F10 – Misinformation and digital platforms). One of the editors admitted that this was a gradual ride from early optimism to disappointment. Therefore, even if some media have kept theirs – usually associated with a social media platform integrated into their website – they are becoming less common within news websites or are exclusive for registered users, as it happens in Emol.com, or for subscribers, as in LaTercera.com.
The views are similar regarding social media. For the interviewed editors, they are certainly platforms for diffusion, but not for conversation and the generation of a community with audiences. “Social media is poisonous”, said an editor. “What the audience comments on has no impact on internal decisions”, stated another. These sentiments are understandable, because recent research has confirmed that people who comment on news in Chile often have an uncivil profile, are angry, and use these spaces to express their anger (Saldaña, 2019). Generally, the comments are not deliberative and lack evidence to support their arguments. There is also an abundance of fictional names and identities (Rosenberg, 2018).
Certain digital projects like El Líbero and Interferencia have a community philosophy towards their readers. Sometimes subscriptions give access to exclusive content, by organising meetings with editors and journalists, or by asking for voluntary economic support to sustain the medium, as does Ciper Chile; however, they usually function under a passive-audience logic, with no participation of the readers in the content offered. One exception is Base Pública, which organises citizen encounters to raise issues that may later become articles.
The media outside the capital incorporates users more widely through local radio stations and television channels. They effectively become permanent content generators, also through the Citizen Newspaper Network, Mi Voz. However, they are less of a journalistic organisation and more about citizens’ participation, with a tendency towards opinion over information (Puente & Grassau, 2011).
