The influence of the university in the construction of critical thinking in the audiences. The case of students from Santiago del Estero, Argentina

Abstract

Santiago del Estero is a province that has a structure of the media system with complex characteristics, which assumes similarities with other provinces in the north of the country; this media structure is seen in recent work from the perspective of sub-national states, however, the treatment has been only at the level of production and relations at a macro level. The hearings do not appear as object of study. This paper addresses this category. It is proposed to analyze the relationship between the local media and a specific audience, university students; having as central axis of analysis the influence of the university in the construction of critical thinking and how this questions the consumption of information of the public. From the application of semistructured surveys to students of all the faculties of the National University of Santiago del Estero and the selection of critical cases that were interviewed in depth, it was possible to characterize a profile of the student as a media consumer in the province, and establish four large spaces of socialization that influence those consumptions within the university: the classroom, professional practice and the participation of political spaces.