Concentración y pluralismo en el nuevo escenario audiovisual español. Análisis de la absorción de la cadena Cuatro por Telecinco

Este trabajo intenta analizar la profunda reorganización que está teniendo lugar en la televisión española tras los acuerdos de fusión que se han producido entre diferentes cadenas. La abundancia de cambios regulatorios, especialmente durante los años 2009 y 2010, ha propiciado la puesta en marcha de acuerdos entre diferentes empresas del sector televisivo. La primera de estas operaciones ha sido la absorción de Cuatro por Telecinco, así como la toma de participación de la cadena de Mediaset y de Telefónica del 44% de Digital+, mientras que la segunda, y largamente anunciada, corresponde a la absorción de La Sexta por Antena 3. El objeto de análisis de este artículo corresponde, no obstante, a la primera de estas operaciones, puesto que ya ha sido analizada por las autoridades de la competencia. En cualquier caso, estas operaciones corporativas han dado lugar a una gran concentración en el sector audiovisual, que puede afectar a la pluralidad de los medios audiovisuales españoles y conducir incluso a una situación de "duopolio" televisivo.This work tries to analize the whole reorganization which is taking place in the Spanish television after the merger agreements that have occurred between different channels. The abundance of regulation changes, especially during 2009 and 2010, with the approval of the new Audiovisual Law, the state-owned TV financing model, the introduction of DTT Pay TV, and others different measures, has given green light to the agreements between Telecinco channel and Cuatro TV and the absorption of La Sexta by Antena 3. The object of analysis for this item, however, the first of these operations, as has already been analyzed by the competition authorities. In any case, these corporate operations have resulted in high concentrations in the audiovisual sector, which can affect the plurality of the Spanish media and even led to a situation of "duopoly".Aquest treball intenta analitzar la profunda reorganització que està tenint lloc en la televisió espanyola després dels acords de fusió que s'han produït entre diferents cadenes. L'abundància de canvis regulatoris, especialment durant els anys 2009 i 2010, ha propiciat acords entre diferents empreses del sector televisiu. La primera d'aquestes operacions ha estat l'absorció de Quatre per Telecinco, així com la presa de participació de la cadena de Mediaset i de Telefónica del 44% de Digital+, mentre que la segona, i llargament anunciada, correspon a l'absorció de La Sexta per Antena 3. L'objecte d'anàlisi d'aquest article correspon, no obstant això, a la primera d'aquestes operacions, ja que ja ha estat analitzada per les autoritats de la competència. En qualsevol cas, aquestes operacions corporatives han donat lloc a una gran concentració en el sector audiovisual, que pot afectar a la pluralitat dels mitjans audiovisuals espanyols i conduir fins i tot a una situació de "duopoli" televisiu

Medios de comunicación, difusión de valores y alfabetización digital

Los medios de comunicación ejercen un papel fundamental en los procesos de creación y difusión de los valores sociales. Esta acción la llevan a cabo en la actualidad condicionados por tres instancias básicas: la esfera del poder político (organismos e instituciones públicas), del poder económico (grupos multimedia y empresas de comunicación) y audiencias activas (nuevas generaciones digitales). Debido a este protagonismo que se reconoce a los medios resulta más que necesario acometer una tarea de educación y alfabetización mediática en esos tres niveles, especialmente en el panorama digital.The media play a major role in the creation and transmission of social values. The performance of this action is nowadays constrained by three entities: the political power sphere (state-owned organizations and bodies), the economic power (multimedia groups and media companies) and active audiences (new digital generations). Due to the prominence of the media, it is more than necessary to undertake both a media education and a literacy task in these three levels, especially in the digital landscape

The politicisation of journalism in Spain: three obstacles to the professional autonomy of journalists

Political journalism plays a key role in current democracies. However, its functional features and dynamics change depending on the geographic context within which they are set. One of the distinctive features of the Spanish case is the high level of political commitment on the part of the media. The aim of this paper is to analyse the main problems that currently result from this high level of politicisation and, consequently, the obstacles it produces for the proper functioning of democracy. Thus, this issue is analysed in depth in terms of three fundamental aspects: soundbite journalism, the influence of press offices, and the television coverage of electoral campaigns based on the proportion of parliamentary representation. The methodology is based on in-depth interviews conducted with a sample of 45 individuals (22 journalists, 16 political actors, and 7 spin doctors). The results show that the three obstacles defined are factors that boost politicisation. They limit journalism’s traditional functions of observing and supervising politics and pave the way for political actors to control the media through interference in their productive routines. Similarly, significant differences are detected when assessing these interferences depending on the actors involved. Journalists assess these interferences negatively due to their involvement in reducing their professional autonomy. However, they recognise their inability to provide a joint response to these obstacles. Politicians deploy a double discourse. They lament how widespread these practices are but also justify their existence as a lesser evil or deflect responsibility towards journalists, whom they blame for their current presence.El periodismo político desempeña un papel clave en las democracias actuales. No obstante, sus características y dinámicas de funcionamiento cambian en función del contexto geográfico en el que se insertan. En el caso español, uno de sus rasgos distintivos es el alto nivel de compromiso político de los medios. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar los principales problemas que se derivan actualmente de ese elevado grado de politización y, en consecuencia, los obstáculos que se presentan para el correcto funcionamiento de la democracia. Para ello, se profundiza en esta cuestión a partir de tres aspectos fundamentales: el periodismo declarativo, la influencia de los gabinetes de comunicación y la cobertura televisiva en campaña electoral basada en la proporcionalidad parlamentaria. La metodología se basa en la aplicación de entrevistas en profundidad a una muestra de 45 sujetos (22 periodistas, 16 actores políticos y 7 consultores políticos). Los resultados demuestran que los tres obstáculos definidos actúan como factor potenciador de la politización, ya que limitan las funciones tradicionales de observación y supervisión de la política operadas por el periodismo y abren las puertas al control de los medios por parte de los actores políticos mediante la interferencia en las rutinas productivas. Igualmente, se detectan diferencias significativas a la hora de valorar estas obstrucciones entre los actores implicados. Los periodistas las valoran negativamente por sus implicaciones en la reducción de su autonomía profesional, pero reconocen su incapacidad para dar una respuesta conjunta a las mismas. Por su parte, los políticos despliegan un doble discurso, lamentando la generalización de estas prácticas pero justificando también su existencia como un mal menor o desviando la responsabilidad hacia los periodistas, a quiénes se culpa de su vigencia

Los retos de las nuevas formas de explotación publicitaria en la financiación de la prensa digital

La financiación de la prensa, afectada por la distribución gratuita digital, y la reducción en la venta de ejemplares impresos están modificando las formas de explotación de los recursos publicitarios. Los cambios que ha introducido Internet en los comportamientos de la audiencia y la búsqueda de un modelo de negocio rentable implican también una profunda modificación en los procesos de comercialización y optimización de la gestión publicitaria; al mismo tiempo que las aplicaciones tecnológicas permiten significativas mejoras en la segmentación de audiencias. La supervivencia de las ediciones on line de los diarios de referencia pivota necesariamente sobre un modelo de ingresos provenientes de la publicidad, reproduciendo de esta manera los mismos condicionantes que sobre la preagenda mediática tienen sus ediciones impresas. Por otra parte, muchos de los pure player españoles, aunque lleven funcionando ya unos cuantos años o sean de irrupción reciente en este mercado basan todas sus expectativas de facturación en la publicidad online y, en algunos casos concretos, en un modelo mixto que combine publicidad con suscripciones. La hipótesis central de la investigación es que la viabilidad de los modelos de ingresos de la prensa digital dependen de la mejora de los sistemas de gestión publicitaria, llevados a cabo por los agencias y por los medios.Funding for the press, affected by the free digital distribution and reductions in selling hard copies, is modifying forms of exploitation of advertising resources. The changes introduced in the behaviors of Internet audience and finding a profitable business model also involve a radical change in the process of marketing and advertising management optimization, while technological applications allow significant improvements in audience segmentation. The survival of the online editions of the daily reference necessarily pivots on a revenue model from advertising, thus reproducing the same conditions that on media preagenda have their print editions. Moreover, many of the Pure Spanish player, but already working with a few years or are newly breaking into this market all their expectations based billing in online advertising and in some specific cases , in a mixed model that combines advertising subscriptions . The central hypothesis of the research is that the viability of revenue models from the press depend on improved advertising management systems, carried out by the agencies and the media

Lack of replication of interactions between polymorphisms in rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility: case–control study

[Abstract] INTRODUCTION: Approximately 100 loci have been definitively associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) susceptibility. However, they explain only a fraction of RA heritability. Interactions between polymorphisms could explain part of the remaining heritability. Multiple interactions have been reported, but only the shared epitope (SE) × protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor type 22 (PTPN22) interaction has been replicated convincingly. Two recent studies deserve attention because of their quality, including their replication in a second sample collection. In one of them, researchers identified interactions between PTPN22 and seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The other showed interactions between the SE and the null genotype of glutathione S-transferase Mu 1 (GSTM1) in the anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide-positive (anti-CCP+) patients. In the present study, we aimed to replicate association with RA susceptibility of interactions described in these two high-quality studies. METHODS: A total of 1,744 patients with RA and 1,650 healthy controls of Spanish ancestry were studied. Polymorphisms were genotyped by single-base extension. SE genotypes of 736 patients were available from previous studies. Interaction analysis was done using multiple methods, including those originally reported and the most powerful methods described. RESULTS: Genotypes of one of the SNPs (rs4695888) failed quality control tests. The call rate for the other eight polymorphisms was 99.9%. The frequencies of the polymorphisms were similar in RA patients and controls, except for PTPN22 SNP. None of the interactions between PTPN22 SNPs and the six SNPs that met quality control tests was replicated as a significant interaction term--the originally reported finding--or with any of the other methods. Nor was the interaction between GSTM1 and the SE replicated as a departure from additivity in anti-CCP+ patients or with any of the other methods. CONCLUSIONS: None of the interactions tested were replicated in spite of sufficient power and assessment with different assays. These negative results indicate that whether interactions are significant contributors to RA susceptibility remains unknown and that strict standards need to be applied to claim that an interaction exists.Instituto de Salud Carlos III; 11/01048Instituto de Salud Carlos III; 12/01909Instituto de Salud Carlos III; RD12/0009/000

Lack of replication of interactions between polymorphisms in rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility: case-control study

Introduction: Approximately 100 loci have been definitively associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) susceptibility. However, they explain only a fraction of RA heritability. Interactions between polymorphisms could explain part of the remaining heritability. Multiple interactions have been reported, but only the shared epitope (SE) × protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor type 22 (PTPN22) interaction has been replicated convincingly. Two recent studies deserve attention because of their quality, including their replication in a second sample collection. In one of them, researchers identified interactions between PTPN22 and seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The other showed interactions between the SE and the null genotype of glutathione S-transferase Mu 1 (GSTM1) in the anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide-positive (anti-CCP+) patients. In the present study, we aimed to replicate association with RA susceptibility of interactions described in these two high-quality studies. Methods: A total of 1,744 patients with RA and 1,650 healthy controls of Spanish ancestry were studied. Polymorphisms were genotyped by single-base extension. SE genotypes of 736 patients were available from previous studies. Interaction analysis was done using multiple methods, including those originally reported and the most powerful methods described. Results: Genotypes of one of the SNPs (rs4695888) failed quality control tests. The call rate for the other eight polymorphisms was 99.9%. The frequencies of the polymorphisms were similar in RA patients and controls, except for PTPN22 SNP. None of the interactions between PTPN22 SNPs and the six SNPs that met quality control tests was replicated as a significant interaction term the originally reported finding or with any of the other methods. Nor was the interaction between GSTM1 and the SE replicated as a departure from additivity in anti-CCP+ patients or with any of the other methods. Conclusions: None of the interactions tested were replicated in spite of sufficient power and assessment with different assays. These negative results indicate that whether interactions are significant contributors to RA susceptibility remains unknown and that strict standards need to be applied to claim that an interaction exists