Left-wing publications, beyond stigmatization, prejudices and complexes

In this, the left-wing parties and movements, the transformative political forces, should play a more active/concrete role, who should be extremely interested in this issue, especially when there is a constant complaint about the communication and media hegemony by the conservative world. , business and transnational. It has to do with the need to expose the ideology of leftist forces, their truthful thinking regarding the new society and the new people, the proposals and achievements, and in the process destroy “fake news”, “post-truths”, distortions and even lies about what the leftist forces think and do. The development/promotion of left-wing publications does not conflict with the promotion of social networks and their different dynamics and platforms. In an updated concept, they are spaces that must complement, not exclude. Faced with reality, it seems pertinent not to continue crying on the wall of communicational complaints and an obsession with known/repeated diagnoses. It seems better to undertake efforts/dedications to strengthen, boost, maintain and develop left-wing publications.

Hugo Guzman. Journalist. Santiago. 2/16/2024. Beyond intentional stigmatization, old prejudices and self-conscious postures, the dynamism that the battle of ideas, the ideological struggle, the media controversies and the challenges of dizzying new technologies take, indicates that there is a need/space for the existence, development and evaluation of left-wing publications.

A statement that frightens conservative and libertarian circles, of the organic right and the ideological right, and the rapporteurs of fallacious communication neutrality.

It turns out that in their defense of “freedom of the press” and “free thought,” they exclude left-wing media as if it were the media demon, and not a natural part of the expression of ideas and development of plural communications.

However, in the contemporary history of expressions of thought and information, in the dissemination of political theory, analysis of national reality and promotion of culture, left-wing publications made valiant efforts and meritorious influences.

That’s how they miss each other today. There are various causes of its decline. And the doses of misinformation, ignorance, obscurantism, simplicity and lack of knowledge about the country’s realities demand that, among many other efforts, left-wing publications be developed giving an account of their ideology, their reflections, their proposals, their debates.

In this, the left-wing parties and movements, the transformative political forces, should play a more active/concrete role, who should be extremely interested in this issue, especially when there is a constant complaint about the communication and media hegemony by the conservative world. , business and transnational.

It is an objective fact that without resources/financing, without precise support, left-wing media, like those of any ideological/political sector, cannot be implemented. This requires effective skills/management.

However, what is vital is the conception that should exist when talking about left-wing publications. It has to do, for example, with the Rebacarrenista conception of “enlightening the people”, Martí’s idea of ​​“directing, explaining, teaching, guiding, examining” and the Allende concept of truthfulness and “trench” work.

We can add the thesis of Ignacio Ramonet of moving towards “an army” in social networks and of contemporary scholars who maintain the need to “be on the walls, in print, on the networks, on the radio” with the perspective of the left, from the precise phrase to the background text.

At the meeting of publications of leftist parties and movements held these days in Havana, vital questions were raised such as the role of leftist youth in the development of strategies to build narratives, the initiative to found and develop spaces for research and generation of revolutionary and transformative theory, and effectively disseminate processes and theory that generate awareness and certainty of the possibility of a better world for the majority.

That is where the objectives of left-wing media point, with an emancipatory vision and informational sovereignty, contributing to the approach, explanation, information, analysis, delivery of data and arguments, which in the end make up knowledge and hence consciousness.

It also has to do with the current need to expose the real ideology of the leftist forces, their truthful thinking regarding the new society and the new people, the proposals and achievements of the left and the transformative sectors, and in the process destroy “news”. false”, “post-truths”, distortions and even lies about what the leftist forces think and do in Chile, Latin America and the world.

A more peremptory challenge when from the conservative, counter-transformative, right-wing, hegemonic-private world, not only are their publications reinforced (in print, on Web Portals, RRSS, radio and television, etc.) but new ones are created encompassing different niches of reaching citizens.

The concept of complementation

The development/promotion of left-wing publications does not conflict with the promotion of social networks and their different dynamics and platforms.

In an updated concept, they are spaces that must complement, not exclude. It is the concept of complementation, not exclusion.

The above is achieved with traditional publications and new formats, the development of platforms such as Instagram, Fascebook, Twitter, Tik Tok or other social media instruments, with the development of radio and audiovisual production.

The point is that each format or each platform has its own characteristics and this must be taken into account.

A good, in-depth explanation, with all its elements, of the pension reform, the need for health reform or the phenomenon of Artificial Intelligence is not achieved through Instagram or Tik Tok, but by using appropriate publications for it. The RRSS contribute in affirmations, convictions, assertions, sensitivities, perceptions, sympathies.

Publications, in short, contribute to information to accumulate knowledge, to the abundant/robust delivery of arguments and data, to construction of theory for action, education and contribution to culture in the full extent of the term.

Distracting factors

There are factors that affect the lack of concrete progress with the promotion and development of left-wing publications.

Some seem insignificant but influence, such as the assimilation of the idea that “people no longer read” or that left-wing media must have a criterion of competition in the market.

The idea of ​​“own agendas” of leaders and representatives of the left also plays a role, who, with all the legitimacy of media promotion and positioning, create individual communication spaces, sometimes neglecting the collective environment.

Another factor that negatively affects and distorts reality is maintaining that the priority path of the left and its representations is to find spaces in conservative, private and transnational, liberal and postmodern media. Media and informatively it has a dose of effectiveness. But in the construction of our own and autonomous instruments, it is nonsense to stick to that idea.

It must be noted that within the left there is a debate about the concept of communication and propaganda, about the use of media and platforms, about revolutionary and transformative theory, about the assimilation of conservative, liberal, commercial concepts, which suddenly It is necessary to be more transparent to reach conclusions regarding the subject of one’s own publications.

It also distorts the idea that everything happens through social networks when it is evident that on these platforms there are contents that are impossible to install based on basic technical and format considerations.

Another factor that negatively influences is a certain forgetfulness and abandonment of the promotion of culture and thought of the left, falling into conjuncturalisms, limitations, simplicity, mediocrities, production deficit, which hits what could be a dynamic of tools own.

In the debate, there is a tendency to confuse left-wing media with state, social or community media, when in reality they are not the same nor are they related to the development of transformative political organic publications. But there are those who intentionally look for that false connection.

Finally, it should be said that while conservative sectors and even the so-called “political center” aim to despise/stigmatize left-wing publications, and clumsily maintain that they help to deny freedom of expression, right-wing publications continue to appear. , from the business world, from transnational press companies, from conservative journalistic consortia, of different characteristics and purposes.

It must be considered that there are dynamics that should not be ignored but that must be grounded in concrete reality. For example, the massiveness or not of certain publications, whether or not to target certain niches, how to reach the militant base and social environments, where there is not only a debate of concepts, but determinations by the resources available.

Conceptions behind the objective

In short, it could be pointed out that in the current situation, without ignoring immense difficulties, sociological realities, societal changes, massive distractions, there is a need for left-wing publications that, at least, reach their militant niches and neighboring circles, being a contribution to information, analysis, understanding and knowledge.

Certainly they are conceptions that fit into the camp of the left and that should tend to reinforce their publications. They are conceptions that have to do with emancipatory communication, information sovereignty and a position in the battle of ideas.

It is usually ignored in the debates (sometimes to the point of leaving everything in a simply rhetorical tone), that promoting/developing publications requires financial/material efforts, resources, and in this the organizations and bases of that left should not be absent or looking to the side. Less, as some maintain, involving left-wing media in market dynamics, self-financing, and privatizing formats.

Today, in countries like Chile, it is stated that in the communication field there is a battle of David against Goliath. It’s true. And there are steps/proposals to improve the Chilean media system – beyond the claims of the left – as an essential step for a real and non-formal, healthy and diverse democracy.

This has to do with the development of social, community, regional, sectoral, public, civil society media, and that goes far beyond the scope of left-wing publications.

Faced with reality, it seems pertinent not to continue crying on the wall of communicational complaints and an obsession with known/repeated diagnoses. It seems better to undertake efforts/dedications to strengthen, boost, maintain and develop left-wing publications.

It is a premise to consolidate existing left-wing publications, especially taking into account that in Chile they are scarce.