Audiovisual narratives in Latin America in the face of insecurity
Bogotá, Guayaquil, and San Salvador on digital platforms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62161/sauc.v12.6211Keywords:
Image, Audiovisual Narratives, Podcast, Social Media, SecurityAbstract
Latin American cities have experienced a transformation in their urban narratives through digital media. This research compares the narratives present in photo reports and podcasts in the cities of Bogotá, Guayaquil, and San Salvador, published on the most viewed social media platforms between January 2024 and June 2025. The study is based on the hypothesis that contemporary audiovisual formats reconfigure representations of urban creativity, generating new paradigms that reflect the cultural identities, social challenges, and creative potential of each metropolitan context. The purpose is to identify how productions contribute strengths to address difficulties and propose solutions to the risks of public insecurity. A mixed methodology is used, applying interviews and content analysis. Photo reports are specialized, while podcasts offer an immersive experience. Understanding these differences helps content creators and researchers leverage the strengths of each medium to communicate effectively.
Downloads
Global Statistics ℹ️
|
0
Views
|
0
Downloads
|
|
0
Total
|
|
References
Arense-Gómez, A., Pérez, M., Terol-Bolinches, R. & Pedrero-Esteban, L. (2024). Journalism in the age of audification: Features of narrative non-fiction podcasting in Spain. Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media, 22(2), 163-185. https://doi.org/10.1386/rjao_00098_1
Ascuez-Valero, F., and Turriate-Guzmán, A. (2022). Distribution of Audiovisual Content on Digital Platforms in Ibero-America: A Systematic Review of the Scientific Literature, IEEE 5th International Conference on Electronics and Communication Engineering (ICECE), Xi'an, China, pp. 114-118. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICECE56287.2022.10048614
Bárcenas, C. (2022). Políticas de diversidad cultural en el sector audiovisual de América Latina: posibilidades e incertidumbres en la era de las plataformas de streaming. Palabra Clave, 25(2), e2523. https://doi.org/10.5294/pacla.2022.25.2.3
Barbarino, R., Herlo, B., & Bergmann, M. (2022). Online Podcast Production as Co-Creation for Intercultural Participation in Neighbourhood Development. Urban Planning, 7(3), 78–90. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v7i3.5434
Bard, G., & Magallanes, M. L. (2021). Instagram: La búsqueda de la felicidad desde la autopromoción de la imagen. Culturales, 9, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.22234/recu.20210901. e519e519
Berents, H., & ten Have, C. (2017). Navigating Violence: Fear and Everyday Life in Colombia and Mexico. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 6(1), 103-117. https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.v6i1.373
Blanco, M. (2020). Estética y contexto de los audiovisuales sobre narcotráfico en Latinoamérica en la era Netflix. Confluenze. Rivista Di Studi Iberoamericani, 12(1), 102–118. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2036-0967/11334
Bonilla, M., Schwamberger, C., Pignataro, G., & Etcheto, F. (2024). What If We All Appear? Audiovisual Workshop in Schools Located in the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires: Postmedia Videolanguaging. Video Journal of Education and Pedagogy, 9(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1163/23644583-bja10058
Carrillo, J. & Mendez, J. (2019) Inner Work, Public Acts: Making a Case for Public Pedagogy and Spatial Justice Within Latinx Communities. Urban Rev, 51, 444–456 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-018-00495-x
Carrión, F. (2024). La producción social de las violencias en Ecuador y América Latina. Histórica, estructural, plural y relacional. FLACSO, Ecuador.
Cherrez, J. (2024, August 6th). La crisis de la seguridad en Ecuador [Podcast episode]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ5dkOwPUrI
Cruz, R. (n.d.). La narrativa periodística colombiana sobre la violencia y el crimen: de la construcción del miedo a la adopción de medidas de fuerza. https://editorial.ucp.edu.co/omp/index.php/e-books/catalog/download/23/24/871?inline=1
Doyle, C. (2019). Perceptions and Realities of Violence in Medellín, Colombia. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 8(2), 149-166. https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.v8i2.1010
Dumbach, P., Schwinn, L., Löhr, T., Long Do P., & Eskofier, B. M. (2024). Artificial intelligence trend analysis on healthcare podcasts using topic modeling and sentiment analysis: a data-driven approach. Evolutionary Intellience. 17, 2145–2166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12065-023-00878-4
El Hilo. (2024, September 24th). Ecuador: crecer entre las balas [Podcast episode]. https://elhilo.audio/podcast/ninos-ecuador-violencia/
González-González, W.-A., & Igartua, J.-J. (2024). Fiction increases trust in Democracy: Indirect effect of security institutions effectiveness’ audiovisual representation in their perceived performance through just-world belief. Communication & Society, 37(3), 125-140. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.37.3.125-140
Grijalva-Verdugo, A., & Moreno-Candil, D. (2017). Social empowerment in Mexican violent contexts through media competence. [Empoderamiento social en contextos violentos mexicanos mediante la competencia mediática]. Comunicar, 53, 29-38. https://doi.org/10.3916/C53-2017-03
Guerrero-Sierra H, Wilches Tinjaca J., and Franco, A. (2025). Digital narratives and the legitimation of narcotourism: a critical perspective from Latin American thanatourism. Front. Polit. Sci., 7, 1601301. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2025.1601301
Hardesty, J. L., Haselschwerdt, M. L., & Crossman, K. A. (2019). Qualitative Research on Interpersonal Violence: Guidance for Early Career Scholars. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 34(23-24), 4794-4816. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519871532
Huento, D. (2024). Metodologías y abordajes sobre la violencia de género desde las TIC. Una experiencia en el Collaborative Online International Learning. Catedral tomada, Revista literaria latinoamericana, 12(23). https://doi.org/10.5195/ct/2024.688
Kopčavar, N., Petek, D., Švab, I. & selič, P. (2016). Barriers to Screening and Possibilities for Active Detection of Family Medicine Attendees Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence. Slovenian Journal of Public Health, 55(1), 2016. 11-20. https://doi.org/10.1515/sjph-2016-0002
Kulkov, I., Kulkova, J., Rohrbeck, R., & Menvielle, L. (2024). Leveraging Podcasts as Academic Resources: A Seven-step Methodological Guide. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 23. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069241266197
Levin, S., Nilsen, P., Bendtsen, P., & Bülow P. (2022). Risk-Increasing and Risk-Reducing Factors for Violence: A Qualitative Study of Forensic Patients’ Perceptions. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 21(4), 383-398. https://doi.org/10.1080/14999013.2021.2023238
Malamud, C. & Núñez, R. (2024). América Latina, crimen organizado e inseguridad ciudadana. Real Instituto Elcano https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/analisis/america-latina-crimen-organizado-e-inseguridad-ciudadana/
Manovich, L. (2017). Instagram and contemporary image. The City University of New York
McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Martín-Barbero, J. (1987). De los medios a las mediaciones: Comunicación, cultura y hegemonía. México: Gustavo Gili.
Montiel, D. & Martin, C. (2021). Entangled with the necropolis: a decolonial feminist analysis of femicide news coverage in Latin America. Feminist Media Studies, 23(3), 1222–1237. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2021.1988675
Morales, E. (2023). ¿Qué investigamos cuando estudiamos la violencia en redes sociales en Colombia? Investigación y Desarrollo, 31(2), 228-249. https://doi.org/10.14482/indes.31.02.814.456
Muggah, R., & Diniz, G. M. (2013). Digitally Enhanced Violence Prevention in the Americas. Stability: International Journal of Security and Development, 2(3), Art. 57. https://doi.org/10.5334/sta.cq
Mullo, D. (2023). La sombra de la violencia: Impacto psicológico y la influencia de los medios en la percepción de inseguridad. Inredh. https://inredh.org/la-sombra-de-la-violencia/
Muñoz, L. (2010). Internet un espacio de empoderamiento de las mujeres. https://bit.ly/3Rrg0Kg
Nathan, S., Newman, C., & Lancaster, K. (2019). Qualitative Interviewing. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.) Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5251-4_77
Observatorio Ecuatoriano de Crimen Organizado. (2025, August 7th). Ecuador registró 4.619 homicidios en el primer semestre de 2025 [Instagram post]. Instagram. https://www.Instagram.com/p/DNGYAG2Ofms/
OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT GPT-5 [modelo de lenguaje de gran escala]. OpenAI. https://chat.openai.com/chat
Ordóñez, K., Punín, M., & Suing, A. (2018). Netflix y la identidad latinoamericana: La visibilidad del cine ecuatoriano. 2018 13th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.23919/CISTI.2018.8399443
Pino-Uribe, J. F., Jaramillo Ramón, J. P., & Piedrahita-Bustamante, P. (2025). Homicidios sin fronteras: la transnacionalidad subnacional del narcotráfico en Ecuador y Colombia (2015 - 2022). Revista Criminalidad, 67(1), 59-77. https://doi.org/10.47741/17943108.637
Rubio, M. (2005). Illegal Armed Groups and Local Politics in Colombia. Journal of Drug Issues, 35(1), 107-130. https://doi.org/10.1177/002204260503500105
Scolari, C. A. (2013). Narrativas transmedia: Cuando todos los medios cuentan. Barcelona: Deusto.
Staniewski, M. & Awruk, K. (2022). The influence of Instagram on mental well-being and purchasing decisions in a pandemic. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 174, 121287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121287
Zunino, E., & Focás, B. (2018). The media’s coverage of ”insecurity” in Argentina: victims, victimisers and lawsuits. Communication & Society, 31(3), 189-208. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.31.3.189-208
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Authors retain copyright and transfer to the journal the right of first publication and publishing rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Those authors who publish in this journal accept the following terms:
-
Authors retain copyright.
-
Authors transfer to the journal the right of first publication. The journal also owns the publishing rights.
-
All published contents are governed by an Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Access the informative version and legal text of the license. By virtue of this, third parties are allowed to use what is published as long as they mention the authorship of the work and the first publication in this journal. If you transform the material, you may not distribute the modified work. -
Authors may make other independent and additional contractual arrangements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the article published in this journal (e.g., inclusion in an institutional repository or publication in a book) as long as they clearly indicate that the work was first published in this journal.
- Authors are allowed and recommended to publish their work on the Internet (for example on institutional and personal websites), following the publication of, and referencing the journal, as this could lead to constructive exchanges and a more extensive and quick circulation of published works (see The Effect of Open Access).
