[Commlist] Latin American Communication Monitor 2020 – 2021 published

*2020-2021 LATIN AMERICAN COMMUNICATION MONITOR*

STUDY ON THE PROFESSION OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS 
IN LATIN AMERICA**

*COVID-19 has deepened ethical challenges, the risk of cyberattacks and 
the gender gap, requiring greater professionalization and the 
development of competences in strategic communication and public 
relations in Latin America*

The full report is available for free download from our social networks 
and on the web at https://latincommunicationmonitor.com 
<https://latincommunicationmonitor.com>. On Monday, September 27, (19 h 
Brasilia), in the context of the 36th Inter-American Congress on Public 
Relations CONFIARP 2021, we will be discussing the results with the 
community of professionals and academia. Below are 10 key points of the 
2020-2021 report.

#ComunicaciónEstratégica #RelacionesPúblicas #Ciberseguridad #Género 
#ética #Competencias #crisis #Covid_19 #LCM20_21 #LCM

@LatinAmCom @euprera @uoregon @BCIE_Org@ULatinadeCR @ConfiarpRRPP 
@ECM_CommMonitor @aalvareznobell @GlobalPRMolleda @AngelesMorenoF 
@asuarezmonsalve @athaydes @Marcovherrera @zerfass


*_THE 10 KEY POINTS OF THE 2020-2021 LCM_*

*1.**COVID-19 CRISIS. *In Latin America, 80% of those leading strategic 
communication and public relations acknowledge the huge impact COVID-19 
has had on the activities of companies in the continent. The analysis 
per country indicates that Colombia (64.8%), Peru (63%), and El Salvador 
and Puerto Rico (60.3%) are the countries with the greatest impact in 
communication management during the COVID-19 crisis. Except for Uruguay, 
with 44.2%, the rest exceed 50% in “Total Impact” valuation. In order, 
the worst hit sectors in this management of the crisis have been the 
state sector with an impact of 67.9%, followed by companies quoted on 
stock exchanges (57.9%) and social organizations (57.6%). The 
communication function has been very important for the work areas 
related to strategy and coordination and, to a lesser degree, for 
consultancy. Of every two professionals, one highlights management with 
the information media and digital communication to face the crisis. It 
is surprising that _37.5% of those who work in the public sector claim 
not to have a crisis plan_.

*2.**ETHICAL CHALLENGES AND RESOURCES FOR COMMUNICATION. *Ethical 
challenges have become increasingly present in day-to-day communication 
work in the region. The results highlight that one in two people in the 
profession in Latin America have experienced ethical challenges in their 
daily work over the last year related to the use of bots to generate 
responses on the social networks, and the exploitation of the public’s 
personal data from analyzing big data. Of these, 89% place their 
personal values above the ethical guidelines of their organizations or 
the guidelines and codes of professional associations in managing 
integrity and ethical challenges. The countries that report the greatest 
challenges are Brazil, Peru, El Salvador, Argentina and Uruguay.

*3.**CYBERSECURITY.*Cybersecurity is one further concern for those 
leading communication. Insofar as cybersecurity is concerned, most 
professionals believe it is relevant to their daily work and four out of 
ten have experienced cyberattacks or incidents of data theft within 
their own organizations. Those who work in the public sector believe 
64.1% of cybercrimes can affect their websites and/or social media 
accounts (the highest level of vulnerability in comparison with other 
sectors); 48% believe it is possible that their digital infrastructure 
(e.g., content management systems, computers) can be paralyzed; 51.8% 
believe their stakeholders’ data can be stolen (e.g., journalists’ 
contact data, opinion generators, VIPs and/or consumers), also the 
highest likelihood compared to other sectors; and lastly, 54.6% consider 
sensitive information on the department (e.g., communication strategies, 
budgets, measurements) can be leaked. In this last aspect, compared for 
example to companies quoted on stock exchanges, the difference is 
greater by 15.5%. These types of organizations appear to be the most 
“shielded against cybercrime.”

*4.**GENDER EQUALITY.*The gender situation in the profession continues 
to limit equality in Latin America. On the important topic of gender 
equality at work, the LCM reports that in more than half of the 
communication departments and agencies existing in the companies in the 
region, most professionals are women, but only one in two reach 
management position. Of the countries in the region, Brazil stands out 
as having the largest gap between the perception of how much the issue 
has improved in the last five years (60.9%), in the face of only 8.7% 
who believe what has been done in recent times is enough. Meanwhile in 
Peru, 78.5% of the assessments claim to have improved in these issues in 
the last five years and, surprisingly, Venezuela claims that what has 
been done about these matters is sufficient with 57% agreement.

*5.**STRATEGIC TOPICS. *On the way to 2023, they are: “Facing digital 
evolution and the social web” (39.4%), which has remained unchanged 
since 2016; “using big data and/or algorithms for communication” (36.8%) 
and exploring “new forms of creating and distributing content” (34.9%). 
On the other hand, the least relevant topics are “putting an end to 
gender problems at different levels” (16.2%) and “raising and adapting 
professional competences in communication” (17.4%). As for the 
importance of communication channels and instruments today and in the 
future, communicators believe _that mobile communication is progressing 
rapidly and will continue to do so towards 2023_. Social networks, which 
are the most important channel, lose relevance ever so slightly towards 
2023.**

*6.**DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCES. *In Latin America, most women 
significantly believe in their corporate and communication skills, while 
men significantly value their data and technological competences more. 
The sample in this edition indicates that six out of ten professionals 
are at leadership levels in their companies, thus: 27.1% in the public 
sector, 20.8% in private companies, 18.2% non-profit organizations, 9.3% 
in companies quoted on stock exchanges, and 26.2% work in communication 
and public relation agencies or freelance consultancy.

*7.**SALARIES.*In general in 2020, _directors of communications in the 
region earn less than in 2018_, except for the 30 thousand to 60 
thousand band, which has grown by 2.1%.

More than 75% earn less than 30,000 dollars a year; 14.1% up to 60 
thousand dollar a year as their basic salary; while 1.7% represented 
they earned over 200 thousand dollars a year as a communication 
professional in Latin America.

*8.**EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENTS.*In Latin America, _76.8% of 
communication departments fail to reach levels of excellence_. By 
contrast, some 23.2% departments comply with the executive and 
consultative function optimally, while at the same time successfully 
competing with other organizations. If we analyze the situation by type 
of organization, 39.6% of companies quoted on stock exchanges, 20.3% of 
private companies, 24.3% of public organizations and 17.4% of third 
sector organizations are excellent. **

*9.**The most complete X-RAY OF THE PROFESSION AND THE TRENDS of the 
sector in the region.*A total of 1,683 strategic communication and 
public relations professionals have taken part in the 2020-2021 edition 
of the LCM, representing 20 countries in the region and contributing 
evidence on the /COVID-19 crisis, cybersecurity, the situation of women, 
ethical challenges and new competences/. Also 26 universities took part 
in the research, as well as the broadest network of professional 
associations in Latin America. This fourth edition has been sponsored by 
the /University of Oregon (USA), the Latin University of Costa Rica and 
the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI)/. The 
/COVID-19 chapter/ was designed in collaboration with the /Institute for 
Public Relations (IPR)/ based on the study “/COVID-19: How Businesses 
are Handling the Crisis/”. [12-03-2020].

*10.**THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS SCIENTIFIC STUDY WITH THE GREATEST WORLDWIDE 
IMPACT.*The LCM is the most prestigious scientific study in Latin 
America in the context of the /Global Communication Monitor/ organized 
by the /European Public Relations Education and Research Association/ 
(EUPRERA) over the last 15 years, surveying over 6,000 communication 
professionals in more than 80 countries included in the survey, with 
studies in Europe (ECM), Asia and the Pacific (APCM) and North America 
(NACM).

*About the LCM Study*

It is organized by the /European Public Relations, Education and 
Research Association/ (EUPRERA) in the context of which /Global 
Communication Monitor/ takes part; and it is sponsored by the 
/University of Oregon (USA), the Latin University of Costa Rica, the 
Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), /and received 
collaboration from the /Institute for Public Relations (IPR)/ in the 
chapter COVID-19.

This 2020-2021 edition has had a record participation with responses 
from communication professionals in _20 Latin American countries_, 
contributing detailed knowledge for 12 key markets. Most of the 
surveyees (68.5%) are South American (from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, 
Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela), 
followed by those from Central America (22.6%: Costa Rica, Cuba, El 
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic) 
and from North America (22.6%: Mexico and Puerto Rico). Of these, 67.2% 
are women. The average age of those who took part in the study is 38.7 
years, 4.4% have PhDs, 43.1% have Masters Degrees and 50% have 
university degrees.

*EUPRERA
*The /European Public Relations Education and Research Association 
(EUPRERA/) is an autonomous organization with nearly 500 members from 40 
countries interested in advancing academic research and knowledge in 
strategic communication. Several cross-national and comparative research 
and education projects are organized by affiliated universities. In 
order to spread new methodologies and research results, EUPRERA 
organizes a highly regarded annual congress each autumn in collaboration 
with a selected university or college in Europe.www.euprera.org 
<http://www.euprera.org>**

*RESEARCH TEAM*
Dr. Alejandro Álvarez-Nobell - Universidad de Málaga (ES) | */PRINCIPAL 
INVESTIGATOR/*
Dr. Juan-Carlos Molleda - University of Oregon (EEUU) | */PRINCIPAL 
INVESTIGATOR/*
Dr. Ángeles Moreno - Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (ES)
Dr. Andréia Athaydes - FACCAT - Faculdades Integradas de Taquara, Brazil(BR)
Dr. Ana María Suárez-Monsalve- Universidad de Medellín (CO)
Marco V. Herrera - Universidad de la Comunicación (MX)

*ADVISORY COMMITTEE*
Dr. Adriana Amado - Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (AR)
Dr. Gabriel Sadi - University of Huddersfield (UK)
Dr. Margarida Kunsch - Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
Dr. Rebeca Arévalo Martínez - Universidad Anáhuac (ME)
Dr. Marita Solórzano Castro - Colegio Profesional de Relacionistas 
Públicos del Perú (PE)
Dr. Octavio Islas - Universidad Central del Ecuador (EC)

**

*NATIONAL CONTACTS**/
/*A network of 26 universities and professional associations invigorate 
the study in each country in the region
https://latincommunicationmonitor.com/red-global 
<https://latincommunicationmonitor.com/red-global>

Carol Carbone and Marcela Farré (Argentina); Andréia Silveira Athaydes 
(Brazil); Juan Cristóbal Portales (Chile); Ana María Suárez-Monsalve 
(Colombia); Christian Bonilla Cruz and Margoth Mena Young (Costa Rica); 
Magda Rivero Hernández (Cuba); Elvira Lora (Dominican Republic); Jenny 
Yaguache and Marco López Paredes (Ecuador); Berania López Marroquín 
(Guatemala); Marco V. Herrera (Mexico); Mirna Robleto (Nicaragua), 
Maritza Sumich (Panama); Diego Brillada (Paraguay); Gladys M. Díaz 
(Puerto Rico); Patricia Bobadilla (Peru); Wendy Brizuela (El 
Salvador/Honduras); Leo Báez – IN MEMORIAN – (Third Sector) Mónica 
Arzuaga (Uruguay) and Xiomara Zambrano (Venezuela).

**

*ACCESS AND CONTACTS*

*Report (free):*https://latincommunicationmonitor.com/informes 
<https://latincommunicationmonitor.com/informes>

*Contact Principal Investigators:*

Alejandro Álvarez-Nobell, PhD | Universidad de Málaga (Spain) | 
(aan /at/ uma.es) <mailto:(aan /at/ uma.es)>| +34 606854215

Juan-Carlos Molleda, PhD | University of Oregon (USA) | 
(jmolleda /at/ uoregon.edu) <mailto:(jmolleda /at/ uoregon.edu)>

*Networks*

/Twitter:/https://twitter.com/LatinAmCom <https://twitter.com/LatinAmCom>

/Facebook:/https://www.facebook.com/LatinCM/ 
<https://www.facebook.com/LatinCM/>

/LinkedIn: /https://www.linkedin.com/company/latinamericanmonitor 
<https://www.linkedin.com/company/latinamericanmonitor>

/YouTube:/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRq6m2yyUYXQ1qsaH2oRA9A/videos <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRq6m2yyUYXQ1qsaH2oRA9A/videos>



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