Estudio de recepción de noticias de violencia e inseguridad en los cantones Piñas y Portovelo

Abstract

Abstract: Violence and insecurity, social phenomena widely disseminated in the media, influence audience perceptions in Piñas and Portovelo, Ecuador. Therefore, this study seeks to analyze how audiences interpret and reframe news related to these topics, considering socioeconomic and cultural factors. Through the uses and gratifications theory and cultural mediations, a qualitative methodology was employed using focus groups and interviews. Thus, the findings reveal how rural audiences, in the case of Molana, create community strategies in response to insecurity, while in the case of Portovelo, fear surpasses institutional distrust. The findings reveal that rural audiences, such as those in Molana, develop community strategies to address insecurity, while fear and institutional distrust prevail in Portovelo. In Piñas Centro, perceptions tend to be more critical. This analysis highlights the need for communication and educational strategies that encourage critical consumption of information and promote social cohesion in response to media violence.