RIGHT TO COMMUNICATION FOR DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT: EXPERIENCES OF COMMUNITY, ALTERNATIVE AND POPULAR MEDIA IN THE DISTRICT OF LA MATANZA, ARGENTINA

Abstract

The media have an undeniable influence on the perception and social construction of disaster risk. Through their work they can contribute to risk reduction, but they can also contribute to the aggravation of risks and the materialization of disasters. The article explores the relationship between the right to communication and disaster risk management, exploring approaches to citizen-managed media, known as community, alternative and popular media. The research is framed within the qualitative methodology, based on two approaches: interpretive-hermeneutic and social constructionism. It is based on the case study and is delimited in the locality of Gregorio de Laferrere, La Matanza district, Province of Buenos Aires. The research deepens on the Latin American context in which the risk management approach and the right to communication emerged, finding in the 80's a point of historical confluence based on the political-cultural democratization and the strengthening of citizenship. The results have made it possible to characterize two models of communicational approaches: the model of disaster journalism and the model of the right to communication for risk management.