The Uruguayan television news and the prison crisis of 2012An approach from the shocking media case theory

Abstract

In this paper we will analyze the Uruguayan open television evening news coverage of the so-called prison crisis between April 20 and May 3, 2012. This unprecedented phenomenon started with a shooting where an inmate and a prison guard died in the Penal de Libertad prison, an event that also led to three consecutive riots in two other prisons within a one-week period. Based on the “Shocking media case theory” (Fernandez Pedemonte, 2010) we will analyze how the news agenda is altered by some phenomenon turned into a shocking media case, and its emergence as a new exceptional topic in television news is treated under a narrative modality.