TV USAC is a university television station with some two decades of history. Its frequency was assigned by the government in 1990 to the University San Carlos de Guatemala, an autonomous higher education entity in Guatemala. The station started broadcasting only 12 years later in 2002. Today, it covers the capital city and a few large towns. It mostly airs cultural and educational programs. It has a staff of only 19 people. The University San Carlos de Guatemala has also been running Radio Universidad (92.1 FM Universidad) since 1992. The radio channel airs cultural programs, music and general informational programs.
Media assets
Television: TV USAC
Radio: Radio Universidad
State Media Matrix Typology: Independent State-Funded (ISF)
Ownership and governance
The channels of the University de San Carlos de Guatemala depend on the university. TV USAC, for example, is managed by a “channel boss” who coordinates the work of the station and is part of the university’s extension department.
Source of funding and budget
The channels of the University San Carlos de Guatemala depend entirely on government funds, according to local journalists and experts. They receive fundings from the state every year, but they are allocated via the university budget.
Editorial independence
The content on the broadcasters run by the University San Carlos de Guatemala are not controlled by the government, all editorial-related decisions being made by the university. Some of the station’s programs received important awards in the past.
The channels of the University San Carlos de Guatemala are independent of the government as the Guatemalan Constitution (article 82) states that the San Carlos University is an autonomous institution.
No independent assessment/oversight mechanism to validate the editorial independence of the channels run by the University San Carlos de Guatemala has been identified.
August 2023