Argentine Press Release

The Communicators of  Argentina (Comuna) integrated by journalists, communicators,  workers of the press and educators,  celebrate the recent decision passed  by the Supreme Court of Justice that consolidates the democratic process of information and communication throughout the country, and rules out the concentration and monopolization of the press.

The Supreme Court decision determines that the Clarin Group (Grupo Clarín SA, Arte Radiotelevisivo, Cablevisión, Multicanal SA, Radio Mitre SA y Teledigital Cable SA) will have to abide by the dispositions of  Article 161 of the Audivisual Communication Law as from December 7th 2012. The mentioned law was approved by a Congressional majority and has since been affected by a precautionary measure filed by the mentioned Clarin group on October 1st, 2009.

The Court resolution  represents a decissive step to dismantle the accumulation of frequencies especially gathered by the mentioned economic Group and obtained under the protection of the previous Media law whose enforcement dates to the Military Dictatorship time. Frequencies controlled by the Clarin Group amount to 300 licenses of radio and TV broadcasting stations with a discourse of their own .

A new chapter opens in the country to offer more room to different voices, and deal with communication and information circulation in order to overcome monopilistic concentrations that international entities define as anti-democratic.

The Court passed the decision in the presence of attemps to set up the idea of an Argentina without freedom of press and expression, a statement useful to cover up the Clarin Group resistance to abide by the Law  and prove that companies are not the custodians of freedom of press but freedom of business.

Within the terms established by the Court, therefore, the Clarin Group, and all other multimedia entity in the country  for that matter,  will have to break their monopolistic attitude, an initiative unfortunately represented by the figure of “desinvestment” instead of  “ adaptation to the rule” and “respect of the Law.”

Once again we state that information is not a commodity but an essential human right like water. .Therefore, we consider that it is time to celebrate the full enforcement of the Media Law  construed by democracy in an equitable manner for all the actors in the field so as to promote plurality of voices, multiply possibilities of communication, give and receive information and therefore foster freedom and democracy since people rather than businessmen are the true custodian of information.

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