ABSTRACT
With the return to a constitutional government in 1983, the Argentine media system—which had been largely subject to the influence of the State since 1975—started a phase of adaptation. This context was characterised by the growing influence of private companies, content distribution, exploration of formats, pressure from some print media to engage in the audiovisual business and a macroeconomic instability that also affected journalism as a profession. While the privatisation of television channels 11 and 13 in 1989 laid the foundations for the emergence of multimedia groups, the legal basis for their subsequent structuring is to be found in the Broadcasting Decree Law 22,285 of 1980 and its amendments. Although in 2009 Congress passed the Audiovisual Communication Services Law with the aim to decentralise ownership of the sector, its defective enforcement and a series of decrees that were introduced after December 2015 ended up dismantling the core meaning of such legislation. The result was the persistence of a conservative media system. However, journalistic styles and audiovisual and print media content have undergone different stages since 1983, not always in sync with the economic circumstances and the big political trends. At the turn of the century, an economic crisis broke out. Also, internet access became ubiquitous. Both factors contributed to tear down the traditional business model of the media, and dependency on the government and the orientation of journalistic companies towards other lines of business gained momentum.
