Basic Changes in Television

Basic changes in television fare have been relatively recent and few in number, aside from the introduction of programming available on expensive cable services that have been beyond the modest incomes of most Mexicans. In the 1970s, Televisa's four channels began increasingly to address specific segments of its audience, based in part on the original mix of programming that targeted particular groups, such as older, primarily female viewers. Hence, one channel would focus on older, primarily female viewers, while another channel would tend to attract a younger, more affluent audience. In the 1990s, talk shows modeled on their U.S. counterparts debuted, as well as televised call-in sales programs. Moreover, variety shows for a new generation of viewers seemed to become less formal, if not more crude, than had been the case in the past, as reflected in the program Sabado gigante. Programming from the United States remains strongly evident, but productions from other Spanish-language countries also have appeared regularly on Mexican television with great success. This inclusion of foreign programming nevertheless has been selective and generally consistent with the entrenched conservative character of Mexican television. Thus, the pattern of the traditional mix persists, such as the ubiquitous importance of the locutor, or emcee (e.g., Raul Velasco, on the popular, music-laden variety show Siempre en domingo); slapstick, Cantinflas-inspired comedic routines; and corny, antic-filled game shows.

The weaknesses of the past have also persisted, none more obvious than the impoverished state of television news reporting. The combination of the Mexican state's capacity for censorship and Televisa's pro-government posture has made for a practice of innocuous news programming on domestic issues, although reporting on world events has improved notably in recent years. Beginning in 1970, the program 24 Horas and its head, Jacobo Zabludovsky, have dominated television news. Still, despite a periodic expose, usually of localized corruption or government ineptness, substantive investigative television journalism rarely appears in Mexico, particularly of a political nature. An incident during the 1994 presidential campaign illustrated the anemic character of Mexican television journalism. When the upstart station of Salinas Pliego broadcast an interview with the leftist opposition presidential candidate, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, the event caused a stir in Mexico for days, compelling Televisa's notorious Zabludovsky subsequently to conduct a similar interview. The hyperbole from the press and political observers over the interview incident served to demonstrate the highly conservative approach of Televisa to news reporting and the general absence of serious television journalism in Mexico.