Canal Once was launched in 1959. It is the first public television station in Mexico, an open-to-air television that broadcasts a variety of cultural and educational programming. It also produces and airs Once Noticias newscasts.
Media assets
Television: Canal Once
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
The broadcaster is owned by the National Polytechnic Institute, an organization run by the Federal Ministry of Public Education. Canal Once’s director, the key decision-making office in Canal Once, is appointed and can be removed by the President of the republic.
Source of funding and budget
The government provides the most significant part of Canal Once’s budget. According to company data, in 2021, Canal Once operated with a budget of MXN 560.9m (US$27.6 m). In 2022, the station received a state budget allocation of MXN 572m. By law, the channel is prohibited from carrying advertising, although it usually sells sponsorships. In 2023, Canal Once received a state subsidy worth MXN 602m (US$ 35.6m) followed by MXN 634m (US$ 35.77m) in 2024.
Editorial independence
Canal Once shows diversity in content, but its news reporting favors the government in charge. After the 2018 election of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) as president of Mexico (followed by Obrador’s appointment of the current director of Canal Once), new programs with anchors and moderators linked to the president’s party have been launched on Canal Once.
An example is Good Faith (a show run by Gibrán Ramírez, a political analyst who is also a candidate for the leadership of Morena, the president’s party). Another such program, La Maroma Estelar, was highly controversial because it had flattering coverage of the government while ridiculing the president’s critics and opponents. In yet another example, the show “John and Sabina” was presented by John Ackerman and Sabina Berman, both known as supporters of President López Obrador. The two presenters often interviewed government officials during the show, openly endorsing their decisions. Ackerman is married to the head of the Secretariat of the Public Service in the Mexican government. At the same time, Canal Once also aired documentaries and other shows that are run by journalists who are critical of the government.
At the same time, Canal Once also aired documentaries and other shows hosted by journalists who were critical of the government. However, in recent years, accusations of censorship at Once have surfaced. Local journalists say that content critical of authorities, especially the president AMLO, was not tolerated on Once.
Claudia Sheinbaum was elected President of Mexico in June 2024. She will replace AMLO in October 2024. The political change is not likely to lead to any editorial changes at Canal Once, as AMLO is Sheinbaum’s mentor.
Canal Once has a so-called Quality Manual that defines the internal rules of operation. However, that does not qualify as a statute that guarantees the broadcaster’s independence.
By Article 259 of the Federal Telecommunications Broadcasting Act, all broadcast media operating in Mexico must have an Ombudsman who is responsible for “receiving, documenting, processing and following up on observations, complaints, suggestions, petitions or remarks of the persons who make up the hearing.” Also, all broadcast media in Mexico are legally obliged to have a code of ethics. The responsibility of the Ombudsman is to verify that the Code of Ethics of each broadcaster is complied with, mainly if viewers or listeners complain about the media content aired by the respective broadcaster.
Canal Once also has a Code of Conduct for its staff and an ethics committee. However, the committee is an administrative body of the broadcaster that consists of people who are mostly people reporting to the general director (who is in turn appointed by the government). The channel also has a Citizen Council whose main mission is to analyze the content on Canal Once and make recommendations to the channel’s management to improve its editorial independence.
July 2024