The televiewer, a sovereign or a puppet of the political events?

Abstract

Since the origins of TV in Spain, the interventionism of Power (in its different forms) has shaped the role of Spanish citizens. Partisan and/or economic interests has lessened the applicability of terms like « general interest » and « public service », terms that were often (and rhetorically) used as a motto for many media policies. These media policies created a certain concept of « TV viewer ». During the dictatorship years, this viewer was considered under the role of a puppet of political events. In the democracy years, the TV viewer is still far away from the autonomy that one should expect for her..