Mapa de Medios Nativos Digitales 2020: Canales De Difusión, Prácticas y Retos Financieros

Studies on the experiences and evolution of digital native media1 in Ecuador are scarce; however, they have shown a particularity: the emergence of new information proposals and the disappearance of others, due to lack of funding sources. This article gathers experiences related to the growth and disappearance of digital native media in Ecuador in 2020. In 2012, a first study conducted by José Rivera Costales assured that there were 34 digital native media, geographically located in ten provinces of the country. By 2015, the number rose to 60, according to a publication by Susana Morán. Despite the increase, this figure only represented 5% of 1148 media outlets that existed in Ecuador, according to the Council for Regulation and Development of Information and Communication (Cordicom), the institution in charge of keeping the public registry of media outlets. According to José Rivera, in 2016 in Ecuador the number of digital media almost equaled the number of traditional media. According to the study called History, evolution and challenges of digital journalism in Ecuador, published in No. 18 of Textos y Contextos Magazine, the number of digital native media amounted to 83. Between that year and 2015, 13 disappeared, although the causes or reasons are still unknown. Pichincha (36), Guayas (18) and Los Ríos (9) headed the list of provinces with more media. By 2020 there were 143 digital native media.