Political Discourse and TV Panelism in Pandemic

the case of Cortá por Lozano

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic reconfigured the processes of mediatization of political discourse in Argentina. This article analyzes how television panelism thematized compulsory isolation from the case of Cortá por Lozano (Telefé), taking as a starting point the press conference of President Alberto Fernández on March 19, 2020, which inaugurated isolation in the country. The hypothesis that supports this work is that panelism contributes to the mediatization of political discourse through a double movement: the media adapt governmental discourses to their own narrative logics, while political actors internalize media values. From studies on mediatization (Verón, 1998; Strömbäck, 2008) and the semiodiscursive analysis of television (Carlón, 2015; Herám, 2021), the six broadcasts of the program that respond to the first week of mandatory preventive social isolation (ASPO) are examined. Cortá por Lozano not only disseminated official information, but also reformulated the political event from a moralizing narrative about isolation and the reinforcement of the presidential figure through discursive and visual resources. These results provide clues regarding television discourses and the symbolic construction of political events, citizenship and authority.