Javier Milei's presidency has significantly changed the media landscape in Argentina, adding to the pressure on press freedom and fragile business models. In a deeply polarised environment, where media are either for or against the government, public interest in the news is down, with audiences instead seeking out non-traditional sources such as live online video.

The government’s determination to cut public spending, vividly illustrated by President Milei handing a chainsaw to Elon Musk, has led to the closure of public media and reductions in government advertising. The former news agency Télam, one of the oldest in Latin America, closed down its news operation, but continued working as an advertising agency for the government, and cut its workforce by more than half. Public radio and television, which have historically supported the government rather than acting as independent sources, also faced layoffs and at the end of 2024 also lost their status as state corporations, paving the way for potential privatisation.

Budget cuts have also hit privately owned media – overall advertising declined by 4% in 2024.¹ While ad spending for digital outlets remained steady, it fell by 28% for print, 15% for radio, and 9% for television, mirroring the audience's migration to online media.

Attacks by the president on journalists who criticise him have continued, with him repeatedly vilifying and insulting reporters, treating them as enemies. The non-profit FOPEA (the Argentine Journalism Forum) said almost a third of attacks on journalists between April and July 2024 involved the president. Meanwhile the country dropped 26 places in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, to 66th place.

The Milei government continues to polarise news outlets, with some supporting and others opposing, continuing a trend which was established during previous administrations, particularly that of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. But the polarisation has not led to an increase in interest in news – rather it has led to even lower levels of engagement. In 2017, 77% of people in Argentina reported being extremely or very interested in news; in 2025 it is just 42%. Fewer than one-third of respondents indicate that they trust the media in general, and less than 40% trust the specific media outlets they engage with.

There are many news outlets in Argentina but ownership is mostly concentrated into a small number of conglomerates such as Grupo América and Grupo Clarín, owner of the top-selling print newspaper in Argentina, Clarín. It reported an average daily print circulation of just 38,000 copies by the end of 2024, down from 51,000 a year earlier.² Ten years ago it was selling a quarter of a million copies a day. The digital subscription base, however, has grown to 750,000 users, while print still accounts for 53% of circulation revenue. Meanwhile, broadcast television viewership continued to decline, with average ratings of 17% across all stations in 2024, down from 18.4% the previous year.

Online media have increasingly adopted subscriptions as a funding source, but only 11% of respondents reported paying for news online in 2025. The two leading online news outlets in early 2025 were Infobae, which was used weekly by 34% of respondents, and the website and apps of the cable news channel TN, visited by 31%. Neither of these outlets has paid subscription options.

While traditional news outlets decline, alternative sources are thriving. Online live video, blending news and entertainment, surged during the pandemic and continues to grow. For instance, 8% of respondents cite Luzu TV as a news source; this channel has over 2 million subscribers on YouTube, while its main competitor, Olga, has 1.4 million subscribers. Other online news outlets and broadcast radio have followed suit, webcasting discussion programmes which are popular and less costly to produce than traditional news. Some of them foster community-building through in-person interactions with presenters and celebrities; some include live music performances. Their primary source of funding remains advertising, both directly on their channels and via social media.

The use of social media platforms for news has remained consistent this year, with six out of ten respondents saying they obtain information from these sources. Nearly four out of ten respondents use Facebook for news, while 35% turn to Instagram. WhatsApp, however, has declined as a source of information, and the comparatively more politicised platform X is now a news source for just 12% of respondents.

Eugenia Mitchelstein and Pablo J. Boczkowski
Center for the Study of Media and Society, Argentina (MESO)

Trust in news at 32% remains low by international standards, linked to high levels of political polarisation. Despite this, some media brands, such as Telefe, TN, La Nación, and Infobae, have continued to be perceived as trustworthy for at least half of the respondents.

Footnotes