Today our discussions in class focused on Ecuador's media and the role media plays in our perceptions. Many of the places from which we get our ideas of cultures different from our own is rooted in the media. For example, many of the assumptions we came into this country with came from TV shows, tourist information as well as different publications and newspapers. These ideas come from an ideology: a set of ideas structuring world views of a group of people. One of the things about the production of media that I found interesting was the idea of agenda setting. John G. Oetzel describes the way media tells about what to think about. Since there is such a monopoly in the United States of who decides what messages are displayed, a skewed perception of culture is produced which unfortunately, marginalizes minority groups who are underrepresented in media. This is especially true in Ecuador due to the governmental control over media messages. In 2013 a media law was passed that limits the freedom of speech and messages that are displayed. This bill that was passed limits privately owned media outlets as well as the messages sent to governmentally approved messages.
After this class discussion we visited the Unisón TV station, the second largest in Cuenca. It is a nongovernment owned Christian TV station. The tour guide at the studio made a big point of stating they were not owned by the government because they are proud to be an independent station in a time with tighter governmental regulations on the media. While at the station we had a tour of the studio where programs are actually filmed. We got to see a cooking show in progress and even be on Ecuadorian TV for a few seconds! We also saw the sets used for the news and sports as well as set for talk shows and interviews. Most shows for this station are filmed live, however some are prerecorded and edited together. We saw the area where the editors and producers worked to create the different TV programming as well as the control room and sound room. The control room is where the different camera views are selected as well as overall direction of the programming. The sound room is used to regulate the sound and music used in programming and becomes especially important when musicians are featured on TV to make sure the sound of their music is clear and sounds the way it is supposed to. Visiting the TV station was such a neat experience. Tomorrow we are learning about the health care system of Ecuador which I am so excited for because that is the field I want to go into.
