Independent Journalism for Hybrid Democracies: A Systemic Vision in Three Latin American Countries

Abstract

ABSTRACT Contemporary journalism is facing challenges because several changes in the world: the decline of democracy,: the proliferation of false information (both in “official” and informal spaces), the raise (and transformation) of communication agencies with profit priority, and the urgent need to promote educational alternatives for citizenship. For all these reasons, it is necessary the presence of information channels that maintain a balance between the quality of information, economic sustainability, and the promotion of active audiences. This is particularly important when the conditions for the exercise of journalism are facing regimes with conditions of authoritarianism, such as hybrid democracies and authoritarian governments. In this article, success stories of independent journalism in Peru, Honduras, and Mexico will be analyzed, as well as their strategies to guarantee responsible practice and economic sustainability. In this sense, the cases will be analyzed through system thinking, considering the characterization and common elements found in three Latin American hybrid democracies.