When we were at the university, journalism schools taught us that the role of the media was to inform, and as such, the one who was right was the one who managed to be in the news and from there tell what was happening, describe facts.

In the recent social upheaval in Chile with serious crises of violence, including intentional fires to all types of infrastructure, looting and destruction, one of the aspects that has begun to be criticized by the citizens, and which I want to refer to, is the role of the TV channels and radio stations that have been broadcasting violence for
3 weeks.

Is this helpful? Do we want this to be what children see? Is it healthy to turn such a serious problem into a science fiction novel? Does it contribute for the country to return to normal? Does it increase the stress levels that the population already has? It is known that violence brings violence, and the more space is given to violent groups in the media, the more they achieve their goals of gaining visibility.

Social networks have not done better, with fake, biased news and pure political extremist propaganda have flooded us with online violence. Is that inform?

I think this makes us rethink the whole functioning and purpose of the media and validates again the written press, which is capable of giving more analysis, more argumentation, more interviews, more discussion, raising positions, confronting truths and fostering debates.

More access to media spaces was what citizens asked for, breaking the traditional media guidelines that only worked based on the rating. Yes. It is true. But guidelines more citizen-oriented and less attached to the rating could also be sought in other ways. The media have also been part of the crisis and not of the solution. And they have not wanted to recognize it. They are part of the old politics. And that biased vision even reaches the international press that has been trying to explain why there is violence in Chile.

However, we can look at the glass half full. Today, Chile can give an example to the world, because without a doubt this is not a local problem, it is a global problem, which will move across the globe country by country and has to do with the world changing. From this small experiment room that is Chile, we can show the world that the media also have to rethink their role in society, and that by the way that will allow them to find a place instead of ending up in the cemetery.