Medios digitales como un componente primordial para la opinión pública de la ciudadanía machaleña. estudio desde la perspectiva de periodistas

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze the influence of digital media in the construction of public opinion of the citizens of Machaleña, from the perspective of journalists. For the analysis of the problem, some aspects were taken into account such as: digital communication, digital media, digital media ecosystem, public sphere in networks, journalism in social networks. Specific objectives are to analyze the importance of digital media, analyze the process of shaping public opinion, analyze the transition of public space in the solidification of digital media in virtual communication and expression, and analyze the virtues and weaknesses of digital media in Machala. The methodology of this work is descriptive and qualitative, because it is shown as a case analysis, starting from the study of the construction of public opinion to determine the influence on audiences, from the perspective of journalists in the city and for this 25 experts in public opinion were interviewed, most of whom are journalists who practice in digital media, others are experts in political communication and political advisors and a minority are distributed among international and national sociologists and finally there are lawyers. The data that is sought must answer the questions: What is the importance of digital media in the citizens of Machaleña? What is the process of shaping public opinion in the citizens of Machaleña? What is the transition of public space in the solidification of digital media in virtual communication and expression? and What are the virtues and weaknesses of digital media in the citizens of Machaleña? In the results it is found that public opinion is currently defined as the criterion of our society that is influenced by the media, social networks and its perception is based on the level of education of the person. The media are still the main generators of public opinion, and who will soon be displaced by the different platforms in social networks. Due to the technological boom there are already more actors who can create opinions. This information is produced by the traditional media through its content agenda, and the digital media through the spectacularization of different topics. The contents are developed by the audiences, and obviously by the leaders of society. The debate with height, with arguments based on each topic, will always be important to be able to inform society, everything depends on the theme to be able to consider it as a good alternative, since many define public debates as a space to know the diversity of thought and gain a different perspective towards any event. Ethics and deontology in the journalistic exercise plays an important role when generating public opinion, this is to respect the principles and duties of the profession and not to turn information into a commodity, for this it is necessary that journalists respect their deontological code.