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JOURNALISM IN THE AMERICAS Blog

Chilean prison fire brings calls for better coverage of prison conditions


The deaths of 81 inmates in a prison fire in Santiago this month have brought angry response by users of social networks, who criticized prison conditions in Chile and accused the media of insensitive coverage, Global Voices Online reports.

Radio Bío-Bío reports that journalists and news organizations were criticized for showing charred cadavers and making several blunders during the fire, including insensitive questions by of victims, and a lapse by one reporter, who said he was broadcasting from outside the "mine," referring to the national drama in the Atacama Desert that ended in October.

On Twitter, the hashtag #carcelsanmiguel was used to criticize the overcrowding of prisons, which President Sebastian Pinera has acknowledged are "shameful and inhumane."



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1 comment

 
Steve Calgary wrote 1 year 21 weeks ago

Tragic, this day in age there

Tragic, this day in age there should be no excuse for a fire that size to happen inside of a government institution. Whether it's a prison or not, they're human beings and their wellbeing is the government's responsibility while they are incarcerated. I find the media coverage quite appaulling.

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