The News: Buenos Aires (MO)

"Nunca más" The slogan of the march of remembrance on March 24

Although the news in Argentina seems to be similar to that in the United States, there are some small differences. The news in Argentina seems to contain more international aspects. The news covers a lot of what is going on in Argentina, but also about what is going on in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Another interesting aspect of the news is that it seems a lot more accessible. There are tons of news channels on the television, and just about anywhere you look in the city there is a kiosk where one can buy any assortment of newspapers, and magazines.

News kiosks like this are on every corner
(How many times can you spot Obama?)

Like I previously mentioned the news seems to be a lot more worldly here in Argentina. Because of this knowledge of other cultures and countries, one of the biggest pieces of news this week was of course about Obama. Now, this did of course also have something to do with Argentina, but first it was solely Obama's visit to Cuba. From the moment that his plane touched down in Havana, Cuba that is all that one could find on the news. On all of the TVs and on the front page of every newspaper and magazine there was a picture of Obama and Castro exchanging greetings. The Argentines were very excited that the US was mending it's ties with Cuba, and that Obama was finally able to make it to this part of Latin America. I also found that the news presented a more objective perspective of relations that they are not directly involved in. Of course there was an aspect of bias from the Argentines, but I feel that news about other countries is a lot more open-minded than
in the US.

The march of remembrance stopped all traffic on one of the
 biggest roads in Buenos Aires

Next, was of course Obama's visit to Argentina. An american president had not visited Argentina in the last 20 years, so this was naturally a very big deal here. Something very interesting about Obama's visit here was the dates of which he chose to come. Originally Obama was planned to arrive on March 24 and to give his public speech on this day. Interestingly enough March 24 holds a very special place in the Argentine heart. As my host mom explained to me it is a very "heavy" day for Argentines. March 24 is the date that the Golpe de Estado (military coup) took place in Buenos Aires, and yesterday was not only the "day of memory" of the golpe, but also the 40th anniversary. For these reasons, the people were not very excited that Obama chose to come on such an important day. Due to the major commotion that this caused in Argentina, Obama's arrival was pushed forward a day and he arrived on March 23. Although Obama did give a speech on March 24, it was received much better by the people that he did not make his grand appearance on this day of remembrance.

Argentines are very open about sharing their political viewpoints

Lastly, of course throughout the week the news was also filled with the horrible reality of terrorism that is occurring throughout the world. The terrorist attacks in Belgium were broadcasted very widely in Buenos Aires. Although the attacks were plastered all over Argentina very shortly after they happened, they didn't stick around for very long. I am not sure if this is due to the fact that in America we spend more time talking about such things, or the arrival of Obama in Latin America trumped the importance of the terrorist attacks.

Conclusively, there are many aspects of the Argentine news that are similar to American news, such as the way it is processed, and presented to the community. I do feel that the many different media outlets that are readily available for Argentines greatly increases the knowledge of what is going on in the rest of the world.