Asynchronous modernization of the Mexican press. A center-periphery comparison

After seventy years of an almost complete hegemony, in 2000 the Institutional Revolutionary Party lost the presidency of the Republic to the oppositional National Action Party. That moment was considered the hallmark of the political transition that started in certain regions two decades ago. According to a group of American scholars, the transformation of the political system involved the modernisation of the media system as well, as the Mexican press as a whole was moving towards its professionalization. Nonetheless, diverse case studies focused on specific regions have found empirical evidence that prove otherwise: that local and regional journalism is still determined by the customs of the authoritarian model. Based upon a content analysis of the coverage of the 2015 parliamentary elections in both national and state newspapers, we found that although national media showed a more professional performance than those located in other regions, both groups shared a similar political bias and a limited coverage of those elections. Therefore, the main conclusion is that instead of a general transformation or stagnation, Mexican press develops an asynchronous modernisation process in which there are simultaneously liberal and authoritarian features.