Gacetilla: a keyword for a revisionist approach to the political economy of Mexico's print news media

Abstract

Based on the perspective of political economy, this work traces the history of the gacetilla, advertising disguised as news, also known as `reading notice', a key feature in the finances of contemporary Mexican print news media. The work contends that gacetillas have been the key ingredient in a system of governmental press subsidy, essential in explaining the way in which the Mexican press has served as a propaganda tool for both the Mexican government and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) throughout most of the 20th century. The work also characterizes how the gacetilla system works and how it affects press content and journalistic routines. Finally, the work speculates about the current transition in the political economy of the Mexican press and the implication of this process for future media studies.