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Current Research

Media, public, and democratic erosion in Guatemala (to be presented at ISA West 2024)

Publications

Pruitt Santos, G. M. (2023). The role of social media in political communication: How alternative journalists illuminate information in Central America’s declining democracies. Atlantic Journal of Communication. DOI: 10.1080/15456870.2023.2292217

Declining democracy in Central America, from oppressive policies in El Salvador and detaining journalists in Guatemala to emerging anti-press rhetoric in Costa Rica, reinforces a history of violent censorship for Latin American media, complicating journalists’ abilities to influence communication. Through interviews with journalists in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, this study analyzes the role of social media in Central American journalism. The interviews reveal that while the dominance of algorithms and information monopolies may assist financially controlled mainstream journalists, social media provide opportunities for alternative journalists in Central America to circumvent economic constraints and become more prominent gatekeeping actors in political communication. These findings indicate a shift in the news agenda, facilitated by social media but hindered by the lingering darkness of constrained media systems.

Recent Talks & Presentations

“Violent Censorship as a Means of Restricting Community Activism,” International Studies Association West Annual Conference, Pasadena, CA, September 2023.

Panelist, Preparing for the Academic Job Market. Hosted by Global Studies Doctoral Program, Department of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell. October 25, 2022.

“An analysis of the differences in physical and cyber violence for urban and rural journalists in Central America,” International Studies Association West Annual Conference, Pasadena, CA, September 2022.

“Digital media influence on media freedom in Central America,” American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, September 2021.

“The same old politics with a software update: How social media has complicated media freedom in Central America,” International Studies Association West Annual Conference, Pasadena, CA, September 2021.

“La lucha de #LaPuya: Evaluating the awareness of indigenous protest mobilizations through hashtag activism,” International Studies Association Annual Convention, Toronto, Ontario, March 2019.

“Mobilizing coverage: Examining media frames of minority protests,” APSA Political Communication Pre-Conference, Boston, MA, August 2018.