Meet My Friend, Fernando

When I first came to Lindenwood this year, one of the people I had the pleasure of meeting an International student from Panama, Fernando Sucre.

Fernando has lived in the United States for two years and is enjoying every moment.  
I had the opportunity to ask Fernando about how the media differs from his hometown, Panama City to America.  

MOVIES..

Panama tends to watch and view more American-made movies.  Since Spanish is the common language spoken in Panama, American-made movies tend to contain subtitles (or even the random dubbing).  According to Fernando, there actually aren't even that many movies shown that AREN'T American-made; which is just fine by him because he enjoys American movies better.

RADIO..

Compared to the U.S., radio is actually valued quite a bit more.  Not necessarily for the music, but for the rapid flow of news that Panamanians can recieve while living in the busy City.  Fernando informed me that since he comes from a larger city, they're always on the go (this instantly made me think of Chicago) and because new technology, such as smart phones, spread as fast there, the radio is seen as the main source of information during the day.  
Since there is such a need for radio, they of course have stations dedicated to news and politics.  The only downside to political radio in Panama, is that sometimes it can seem rather biased towards certain candidates.  Which, of course, would sway people's feelings about that politician.
Radio is also still nationwide.  Click here for some of the top radio stations in Panama.

SOCIAL NETWORKING..

I believe I come off as rather ignorant to think that social networkings such as Facebook or Myspace only exist in America (but hey, I've never left the country..so bare with me).  I gave Fernando a little bit of a laugh when I asked him if Facebook or Myspace was even avaliable in Panama.  Of course they are; they're even just as popular.  

MAGAZINES/NEWSPAPERS/TELEVISION

Retaining hot information can always come from the latest gossip column found in almost any supermarket or newspaper stand in America.  Apparently, it's the same for Panama.  Fernando admits to having a sister that reads People Magazine to keep up with American celebrities.  
It's no different either when it comes to newspapers.  Panamanian news seems to be filled with more global news than local news.  While Fernando could not vote  this year, he told me his dad still called after Obama won the election to ask him if he was excited about living in the U.S.  during the time our first African-American president was elected.
It made me think about how little we actually know about other countries and their politicians.  I can't even name one from another country.
As for television goes, some of the channels consist of FOX and CNN.  This is another source of media that involves Panama with global news.

The View on Americans..

While Fernando admits that the media portrays Americans "a certain way" he believes that no matter where you go, you'll always be wrong.  He's met plenty of nice Amercans..and plenty of not-so-nice Americans.  Kudos to Fernando for not believing everything he hears about Americans and keeping an open mind about U.S. citizens.

*Interested in learning about specific newspapers and other media from Panama?  Visit this website.