Misplaced Pages

Mass media in Guatemala is dominated in the area of commercial television by Mexican media mogul Remigio Ángel González, who since the mid-1990s has "virtual monopoly control of that nation's commercial television airwaves". González controls four television stations in Guatemala - El Super Canal, Televisiete, Teleonce and Trecevisión.

González, who also owns a majority of the country's cinemas, had by 2000 also acquired 21 radio stations, including Radio Sonora, known as a leader in news. The other two major radio chains are Emisoras Unidas (owned by the Archila family) and Radio Grupo Alius (owned by Alfonso Liu), a chain of Christian stations which does not compete in news or music.

A 2001 study of González' media properties in Guatemala and Nicaragua found that they had a tendency to squeeze out voices opposed to the government, and concluded that "Gonzalez’s ownership practices create an atmosphere that undercuts the development of democracy." He has a strong influence in Guatemalan politics, for example giving $650,000 to Vinicio Cerezo's 1985 presidential campaign, as well as more than $2.6 million and free airtime to Alfonso Portillo's 1999 campaign. "Political analysts say the free commercials helped Portillo win the election."

After becoming president, Portillo "named Gonzalez's brother-in-law, Luis Rabbé, as his minister of communications, infrastructure and housing, a powerful Cabinet position whose jurisdiction includes the oversight of broadcast media."

See also

• List of newspapers in Guatemala
• List of journalists killed in Guatemala

References

1. ^ Rockwell, Rick and Janus, Noreene (2001), "Stifling Dissent: the fallout from a Mexican media invasion of Central America, Journalism Studies, 2: 4, 497 — 512
2. Dom Serafini, Video Age International, Central American Television Touched By An Angel, January 2010
3. ^ Elizabeth Fox, Fox de Cardona Fox (2002), Latin politics, global media, University of Texas Press. pp52-3
4. ^ Will Weissert, Associated Press, 9 June 2002, Domination of Latin airwaves has 'Ghost' scaring his critics

v t e Guatemala articles
History	Spanish conquest Captaincy General Mexican rule Federal Republic of Central America 1902 eruption of Santa María Ten Years of Spring (1944–1954) 1954 coup d'état Guatemalan genocide Civil War (1960–1996) 1976 earthquake
Geography	Biodiversity Biosphere reserves Cities Earthquakes Ecoregions Fauna Flora Islands Lakes National parks Ramsar sites Rivers Volcanism Water resources World Heritage Sites
Politics	Administrative divisions Congress Constitution Elections Foreign relations Law enforcement Military Political parties Presidents
Economy	Central bank Coffee Currency Telecommunications Tourism Transport
Society	Crime Education Health Languages LGBT rights People Demographics Prostitution Religion Sex trafficking Water supply and sanitation Culture Anthem Cuisine Flag Literature Media Music National emblem Public holidays
Outline Index Bibliography Category Portal

• Mass media in Guatemala
• Mass media by country
• Mass media in North America by country