Julie's Survey of Professional Media

I love learning about other countries especially learning first hand from the international students here at Lindenwood. For this particular blog, I interviewed my friend Fernando from Panama. He had many interesting things to say about Panamanian media and his opinion on American media.

He said that the most prevalent forms of media in Panama are television and the internet. Most people in Panama have a television and a computer. I thought it was interesting to learn that television is actually cheaper there than in America. He said that a cable subscription including extra channels like HBO only cost about twenty dollars a month.

The television stations in Panama show mostly American shows with Spanish subtitles because most Panamanians can speak English. Fernando said his favorite American made show that they play in Panama is “Lost”. He got really, really excited to talk about it too 

Most of the Panamanian produced shows are news and some soap operas. Fernando’s favorite Panamanian television show is one called “La Cascara”. It means “the banana peel” in Spanish and is a comedy show making fun of people, politicians, and events that take place in Panama.



Panama can air these types of shows because, like America, they have a free press. Their media is not completely controlled by the government, but is censored to some degree. Fernando said that shows like “A Shot at Love: with Tila Tequila” do not air in Panama because they are distasteful.

This is a bit of a contradiction though because in music and music videos, Fernando says that much of it objectifies women. According to him, the music is “all just girls shaking their butts in bikinis”. The particular style of music he is referring to is a Latin American style called reggaeton. He says that the artists are not particularly talented; it’s just like Spanish rap. He does not enjoy that style. He says that they do play the same top 40 hits that we listen to in America, but they have Spanish stations too.



I asked him if they read the same magazines as we do in America since they watch the same television and listen to the same music. He said that they have similar magazines in Panama, but they are Spanish versions. An example he gave of a popular magazine is one from Spain called “A S”. He also listed a magazine called “Vanidades” (Spanish for “Vanity”) as popular in Panamanian culture.

The Internet is the same way. People in Panama visit the same websites we do like YouTube, Google, and yahoo, but some have Spanish versions that are popular. Fernando’s favorite is ESPNdeportes.com, a sports website. He said that one thing that is very different in Latin American culture is that everyone uses MSN messenger there. According to him, people all over Latin America use MSN messenger on a daily basis and it is an integral form of communication, whereas here in America only some people use it.

Fernando wanted to make sure that everyone understands that even though he is from another country, he is not ignorant about American culture. He says it really bothers him when someone asks him if he’s every heard of a TV show called “Friends”. Of course, he has! He says we’d be surprised just how much other countries know about American media, and after our interview, I can’t argue with him.