Wikileaks III: 'The Government has a point about Clarín'

By Sebastián Lacunza.-

The US embassy closely followed the Media Law debate and the conflict between the Government and the Clarín media group, a confidential cable released by Wikileaks describes. 

The embassy listened to critics and defenders of the Media Law bill while it was being debated by politicians, journalists and media businessmen.

The Wikileaks document had been initially released by five newspapers, fours from Europe and one from the United States, at the end of 2010. 

Most of the cables containing information about Argentina had been released by Spanish daily El País, and to a lesser degree – albeit in larger detail – by French newspaper Le Monde. Later, local newspapers Página 12 and La Nación were granted access to Julian Assage’s database, and journalist Santiago O’Donnell included additional information on his recently published book ArgenLeaks.

In one of the previously unreleased cables, former US ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne weights in on the Media Law on a cable dated from April 23 2008. The report is called “The Argentine government and the media: biased reporting, conspiracy and monopoly concerns?” 

After mentioning the several concerns raised about the government’s clash with the country’s largest media conglomerate, Wayne states: “The ironic part of this current conflict is that the government has a point about the Clarín group. It does have a tremendous amount of clout because of its dominant presence in print, TV, cable, and radio. Many other media actors have decried this fact to us in the past.”

However, another cable on the matter would say that Clarín is in “no way” a monopoly. 

The then-US ambassador highlights that Néstor Kirchner allowed Clarín to expand significantly, among other things, due to the license extension of the 13 network “and the merging of the Cablevisión and Multicanal cable companies, which granted it a dominant presence in the media sector.”

The diplomat assures that Clarín “can topple governments.” He also maintains that there is still plenty of press freedom in Argentina -- as is evinced by all of the debate and coverage over what the Government is doing or is rumored to be doing with respect to the media. The Government has not closed any media outlets,” although “some journalists allege the Government has illegally wiretapped their telephone conversations.” 

“We can see where the Kirchners might be tempted to take some measures against the press if the political situation deteriorates, but we also expect there would be considerable blowback if they were to do so in this highly literate society,” he warns.

The former head of the US embassy also has some negative views on the country’s journalistic standards:

• “There is no question that some media outlets and dailies tend to criticize the government, and that there is more focus on rumors and unchecked assertions than the best media standards would call for.”

• “The media's general willingness/ability to do serious investigative reporting is limited.” 

• " Most of the media tends to shy away from serious confrontations with the government.”

Wayne assured, at least in April of 2008, that the Government’s quarrels with the press are no graver than they are in any other democracy, and says that the local media, as it happens in other countries, describe the population’s general mood. Then it blasts the government news agency Telam over not reporting on the thousands of Buenos Aires citizens who took to the streets banging pots and pans in support of the farmers during the conflict over the farming export duties.