Journalism Copyright © 2008 SAGE Publications (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC) Vol. 9(6): 750–774 DOI: 10.1177/1464884908096244 ARTICLE Muzzling the watchdog The case of disappearing watchdog journalism from Argentine mainstream news Juliet Pinto Florida International University, USA ABSTRACT What silences an emergent watchdog press, even after that press has overcome great adversity to bring a form of journalism to mainstream news supporting dem- ocratization and social justice? Argentina presents an interesting case study in terms of changes in watchdog performance in a democratic and market-oriented context. A content analysis of three major Argentine news outlets from 1985 to 2005 first demonstrates that observable changes have taken place in mainstream watchdog reporting. Then, from interviews with journalists, media managers and media analysts, results indicate perceptions that public opinion shifts, media economy fluctuations, organizational strategies and government media relations facilitated or hindered the free practice of watchdog journalism in mainstream media. These findings illustrate the effects of forces working at the institutional and individual level that influence media performance, rather than simply at the environmental. Rather than a paradox, the Argentine case has implications for press freedom in other democracies. KEY WORDS Argentina Latin America media systems institutional analysis watchdog journalism Introduction Fifteen years ago in Argentina, if a high-level scandal broke on the pages of a Buenos Aires-based daily, chances are that it happened in the pages of Página/12, an upstart publication begun in the late 1980s that broke the mold of mainstream journalism in Latin America with its top-notch investigative reporting and irreverent prose. High-level political scandals blanketed front pages and permeated broadcast news, as Página/12 engaged in watchdog jour- nalism, a form historically associated with the ideal of media as a mechanism for promoting accountability of those in positions of power by publishing