This article examines the central role of sports media in the discussions about national sports programmes at the peak of Latin American populism, particularly during the governments of Juan Perón in Argentina (1946–55) and Carlos Ibáñez in Chile (1952–8). By exploring sports publications such as the Argentine magazines Mundo Deportivo and El Gráfico and the Chilean weekly Estadio, I argue that sports media staged stories and images that were both inspired by, and critical of, the larger populist projects in Argentina and Chile. Photographers and cartoonists, often in collaboration with sportswriters, produced and crafted populist ideas about class collaboration, the inclusion of children in the state project and women's participation in politics.

The transcripts of the television programme Aló Presidente, the centrepiece of President Hugo Chávez's media strategy, provide insight into the different ways in which his movement promoted the image of its leader and sought to solidify his emotionally charged connection with the Venezuelan masses. The study outlines the dynamics behind the changing format and content of Aló Presidente and places it within the context of earlier research on populist media use in Latin America. Although similar to its predecessors, the programme was a unique creation of Chavismo, designed to balance Chávez's knack for improvisation with a structure designed to curb his excesses and keep him on message. This led to occasional tension between Chávez and the media professionals charged with the programme's production. The article provides a corrective to inaccurate treatments in the media and scholarly literature, and offers new information on Aló Presidente to facilitate future comparative studies.

Hay abundantes datos para una presentación distorsionada del enfermo mental en los medios de comunicación. Sin embargo, se sabe sólo poco sobre sus repercusiones en las actitudes hacia las personas con trastornos mentales. Por tanto, investigamos la relación entre ver televisión y leer el periódico, por una parte, y el deseo de distancia social con respecto a las personas con esquizofrenia, por la otra. En 2001, se realizó un estudio representativo de la población en Alemania utilizando una entrevista personal completamente estructurada. Encontramos que el deseo de distancia social con respecto a las personas con esquizofrenia aumenta de manera casi continua con la cantidad de consumo de televisión. La asociación entre leer el periódico y la distancia social es menos pronunciada y depende del tipo de periódico que las personas lean. Ya que, obviamente, hay una relación entre el consumo de medios de comunicación y las actitudes hacia las personas con esquizofrenia, los mensajes imprecisos y unilaterales sobre los trastornos mentales se deben sustituir por mensajes precisos y más equilibrados.