Mind the (cultural) gap: International news channels and the challenge of attracting Latin American audiences

This article explores the role of cultural proximity in the perception of international news channels in Latin America by focusing on the cases of CGTN (China), RT (Russia) and HispanTV (Iran). Instrumental to the public diplomacy strategies of their home countries, the success of international broadcasters depends on if/whether audiences accept them. Based on a series of focus groups conducted in Mexico and Argentina, this article argues that cultural proximity strongly influences viewers’ aesthetic experience. The findings show that international broadcasters from culturally distant countries bridge the cultural gap by evoking the style of western broadcasters while dissociating themselves from perceived negative images of their own countries of origin. At a deeper level, cultural proximity entails inclusionary and exclusionary processes even within subcultural spheres. Finally, the findings also show how issues of representation can undermine channel identification by audiences.