The opacity of politics in the Chilean press: An analysis of weekly supplements

Abstract

In this article, the main results of a qualitative study that is based on reports and interviews are presented to understand the characteristics of the media coverage of the political arena of Chilean national and regional newspapers. Considering the process of mediatization of politics, it is concluded that these journalistic texts are aimed at people who are already part of the political world, as such a kind of “political manual” is emerging, which teaches, cautions and shapes these people. In addition, the photographs constitute the configurating anchors of sense to provide complementary information to the traditional journalistic level, but also in key reading, emphasizing the focus of the note to simplify it to a metaphorical or metonymical level. In short, politics is treated as a subject geared towards specialists and has an exclusive character.