The document analyzes university media in Ecuador, including their models, types, functions, and self-determination. It identifies the most common models as institutional media managed by communication departments or faculties for student participation. The primary functions of Ecuadorian university media are to provide practical learning, promote the university brand, disseminate knowledge, support education, and address social issues. Results found the majority consider themselves public or mixed community-public/private, with self-determination being an important aspect.

1. University Media in
Ecuador:Types, Functions
andSelf-Determination
Juan PabloTrámpuz, Universidad de Málaga y ULEAM
Daniel Barredo, Universidad del Rosario
Carlos Arcila Calderón, Universidad de Salamanca
Eduar Barbosa, Universodad de Salamanca

2. Introduction
The university media are actors that, being attached to
Higher Education Institutions (HEI), try to find a balance
between media and education. This situation generates
a series of peculiarities that differentiate them from their
commercial counterparts.

3. Introduction
The following research questions are asked: RQ1: What
are the models, types, functions and self-determination
of the university media in Ecuador? RQ2: Do the models
and types of media condition the functions and self-
determination manifested by those who direct these
spaces communicational?

4. Methodology
and
description of
the sample
 The present work is presented as a descriptive, mixed-
approach or quali-quantitative and empirical-
documentary research. Through the development of a
review of the existing literature, which allowed to
identify mainly the functions of the university media in
Ecuador, and the structured interview, centered on the
models, types and self-determination of the media.

5. Methodology
and
description of
the sample
 12 texts published between 2013 and 2018, with a greater
presence in 2016 and 2017. The textual corpus focuses on 75% in
the radio medium and 25% in television, none of them analyzed in
a general way.
 The participating institutions, through interviews with the
directors of their university media, are: Catholic University of
Cuenca (3 media); Santiago de Guayaquil Catholic University (2);
Central University of Ecuador (2); Eloy Alfaro de Manabí (2);
Técnica del Norte (2); University of the Hemispheres (2); Latin
American Faculty of Social Sciences - Headquarters Ecuador;
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador - Ibarra Headquarters;
San Francisco University of Quito; University of Cuenca; University
of Azuay; National University of Loja; Salesian Polytechnic
University; Technical University of Ambato; Private Technical
University of Loja; Technical University of Manabí; University of
the Americas; Agricultural Polytechnic School of Manabi; San
Gregorio University of Portoviejo;Technical University of Cotopaxi.

6. Results:
Models and
types of
Ecuadorian
MCUs
Principals models and types:
 Model: Institutional
 Type: Media managed by a department or by a Communication
faculty, in which students can participate.
This type of media is the most numerous and, in turn, is subdivided
into two groups: those that are directly assigned to the race, which
occupy 55.6% of the total MCU.
 Type: Media managed by the Press Office or the Rector, with the
aim of making the work carried out by the academic institution
reach society.
The HEI has an undergraduate degree in Journalism or
Communication: this is the largest group within this type, since it
reaches 22.2%

7. Results:
Functions
Table I: Priority functions of university media in Ecuador
• Be a practice-learning scenario for future professionals, common
in universities with careers in Communication
• Promote the image and institutional brand, acting as a public
relations tool
• Disseminate university thinking and scientific knowledge, in
relation to issues of collective interest
• Promote culture, opening up to actors who do not have space in
private media
• Produce and / or distribute educommunicational contents oriented
to deal with social problems, through their own channels or other
means
• Provide support to the training processes of the university itself,
through the creation and dissemination of support material for
subjects and courses
Source: Own from [15] [8] [11] [5] [12] [6] [10] [14]

8. Results: self-
determination
 The results show that 40.7% are considered public,
26% community-mixed, 18.5% private, and 14.8%
community.
“The law defines universities as academic communities,
being the television channel and the radio owned by a
university ..., means by drag or legal consequence should
be considered community media, when the television
network was made the Law did not exist yet of
Communication, there were only private media or public
media, virtue of that they gave us a public frequency,
what is maintained until today and which we hope to
change in the next contest of frequencies, to
community”. Interviewee N. 20.

9. Conclusions
 Each university environment meets the requirements of each HEI,
which conditions aspects such as orientation and functions.
 It is expected that the proposed classification by model, type and
subdivision adapted to the Ecuadorian context will become an
input for future studies related to university media in Ecuador.
 Community self-determination in the university media of Ecuador
is relevant. At this point, it should be considered that a good part,
prefer to speak of a mixture between the community and the
public, or the community and the private, which could put into
debate the need to establish a typology of the university media,
based on a meeting point between the Organic Law of
Communication and the Organic Law of Higher Education.
 The university media in Ecuador are constituted as differentiated
actors in the national media scene.