Canal 22 began broadcasting in 1993 as a metropolitan cultural channel. It was an open-to-air television that covered the capital city and its surroundings. Today, Channel 22 operates in the CDMX and Metropolitan Area, but has 25 transmitters in other regions of the country and is also distributed via paid platforms (cable, satellite) across the entire country. Canal 22 has a cultural profile and broadcasts documentaries, films, cultural news as well as entertainment and televised debates.
Media assets
Television: Canal 22
State Media Matrix Typology: Independent State-Funded and State-Managed (ISFM)
Ownership and governance
Canal 22 is owned by the Ministry of Culture. The channel’s general director is appointed by the President of the Republic. The rest of the employees are hierarchically subordinated to the channel’s top management.
Source of funding and budget
In 2022, Canal 22 operated with a budget of MXN 135.5m (US$ 6.7m), according to data from the media. The channel sells sponsorships and other commercial products to generate additional income, but the majority of its resources (over 50%) comes from state funding.
Editorial independence
The channel has prestigious collaborators and its content usually reflects plurality and is praised for its high quality in spite of a few instances in the past when the station was accused of censorship (during the government of Enrique Peña Nieto in 2015). More recently, questions were raised by independent journalists about some propaganda elements in the channel’s programs in favor of the new government of López Obrador. For example, a new show led by government-friendly cartoonists criticizing opponents and where officials of the current government are interviewed in a friendly manner was included in Canal 22’s programming after López Obrador became president.However, that evidence is not sufficient to prove government control of the channel’s editorial practices. The channel, on the contrary, is praised by independent media for its quality coverage.
There is no specific law for Canal 22 or other instruments that effectively prevent the government’s intervention in Canal 22’s editorial coverage. However, the channel’s team has managed to protect its editorial independence and maintain pluralism in the station’s programs. Canal 22 has internal rulebooks offering programming guidelines. However, they don’t qualify as a domestic statute that establishes that editorial independence of the channel.
Canal 22 has a Code of Ethics and an Ombudsman, the latter being a mechanism to ensure the independent assessment and oversight of the channel’s editorial policy.
August 2023