Vol 6, No 12 (2008): January-June

To democratize communication has been a historic concern in critic communication studies in Latin America. However, characteristics currently assumed by media/citizens/information relation, from mediation processes at a public level, have led prior media which think in democratizing actions in media to crisis and have made possible - at the same time- the emergency of novelty experiences in this field.

This paper will present some characteristics of media/citizens/information relation in current Latin-American democracies, and analyze –in general terms, limitations presented in prior ways of thinking democratizing actions in the field of communication media. It will also present central research aspects on organizations’ experiences which are stated as a recently communication democratization objective (media social watch, citizen watch).

This study focuses on the use of strategic, participatory communication to build
multi-sector partnerships. A multidisciplinary literature informs the dimensions of
partnership formation and development. A case study from Colombia describes
the role of strategic, participatory communication in facilitating multi-sector
partnerships. Results indicate that partnerships require a clear expression of
collective commitment; avoidance of dominance by partners; agreement on
shared goals and key messages; and a transparent, inclusive and protracted
dialogic process to achieve synergy

Este texto é resultado de uma pesquisa exploratória realizada em dois periódicos
gratuitos distribuídos na cidade de Barcelona em busca de identificar o
tratamento que esses jornais dispensam aos imigrantes e aos processos de
migração. Parte-se do princípio de que a maneira representar esses coletivos
operam como construtores de sentido e incidem sobre a percepção que os
leitores constroem a respeito desse processo assim como dos indivíduos ou
coletividades estrangeiros.

This article was presented as a byproduct of the research called “Characters, Actions, and Scenarios of Colombian Cinema, 1970-2005. Stage 1,” in which 1990-2005 period was studied from a basic sample of 11 movies. The work (scenarios category), has determined that “La Vendedora de Rosas” and “La Estrategia del Caracol” movies, the city showed has an influence on the characters.

The urban concept is understood as those relations established by inhabitants with both their territory and other people who also live in such a territory. In cinema, urban concept is achieved when the city (scenario) in which story has been narrated is more than a backdrop where interaction among characters allows organizing the story. “La Vendedora de Rosas” shows a city as the characters’ territory (the streets) where they interact with other characters, where they work, and even where they sleep. In “La Estrategia del Caracol” the story goes around a scenario: Uribe’s House, which was changed during the movie while characters try to defend it as their territory.