Television news programs as tools of social discipline: an analysis of femicides’ coverage in Chile

Authors

  • Lorena Antezana Barrios Universidad de Chile
  • Claudia Lagos Lira Universidad de Chile

Abstract

Femicide cases in Chile are highlighted in television news programs due to their heavy emotional impact but also because these dramatic stories are easily organized in a specific narrative and serve as proposals for social discipline. The narrative coverage of femicide cases in Chilean broadcasting was analyzed following a semiotic and qualitative frame. The femicides occurred between January and June 2007 and which were covered by Chilean TV news were include on the sample. The analysis is founded on a critical approach, audiovisual semiotic and gender perspective. The article reveals the way in which theses news items are framed, the underlying assumptions about them and how the TV news try to restore the social order. Finally, this is a reading of the content production aired and not about the audiences’ strategies to consume and receive broadcast content.

Keywords:

News program, television, femicide