International Cooperation, Foreign Aid and Changes in Media Agenda: The Case of Voces

Abstract

Back in 2011, the Spanish government decided to fund the creation of the newspaper Voces in El Salvador within the wider context of public diplomacy and a favorable political atmosphere. This article examines the implications of this aid in the frame of news media plurality in that nation. We suggest that thanks to it the Salvadorian public was offered a news agenda that reflected alternative worldview. However, we also argue, the intervention itself possess a series of ethical issues and challenges that merit further study in order to inform present and future discussions around foreign aid, media and journalism.