Politización y confianza en los medios de comunicación: Argentina durante el kirchnerismo

To what extent did media politicization linked to “new left” governments in Latin America affect media trust? Using individual level data in Argentina, where the government-multimedia conflict was intense, we examine the impact of three political variables: sophistication, preferences, and issues. We find that persons who identified as kirchneristas express less trust, while government voters evaluate media outlets considering presidential performance. In contrast to public opinion in the US, conservatives reveal higher levels of trust. Moreover, individual attributes linked to political sophistication are negatively correlated with media trust, while victims of crime manifest lower levels of credibility. These results have implications for the study of media politics, and the role of elites’ frames and rhetoric in shaping individual perceptions about mass media.