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| Chile finds its voice in The Clinic satirical magazine | Chile finds its voice in The Clinic satirical magazine |
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| Lewd, shrewd and often witheringly funny, Chile's leading satirical magazine has proved itself again this week as the country's most distinctive media voice and a symbol of how far the nation has opened up in the post-Pinochet era. | Lewd, shrewd and often witheringly funny, Chile's leading satirical magazine has proved itself again this week as the country's most distinctive media voice and a symbol of how far the nation has opened up in the post-Pinochet era. |
| Founded in 1998 and named after the Harley Street consultancy where General Augusto Pinochet was arrested that year, The Clinic has developed from an underground pamphlet into the most popular magazine in the country – and one of Latin America's fastest growing news websites. | Founded in 1998 and named after the Harley Street consultancy where General Augusto Pinochet was arrested that year, The Clinic has developed from an underground pamphlet into the most popular magazine in the country – and one of Latin America's fastest growing news websites. |
| Like the Onion, it is characterised by irreverent humour and a strong sense of the absurd. Like Private Eye, it combines parody with in-depth investigations and a provocative analysis of current affairs. But The Clinic goes further than both in its use of profanity and outrageously Photoshopped images. | Like the Onion, it is characterised by irreverent humour and a strong sense of the absurd. Like Private Eye, it combines parody with in-depth investigations and a provocative analysis of current affairs. But The Clinic goes further than both in its use of profanity and outrageously Photoshopped images. |
| The cover for this week's 40th anniversary of the coup that brought Pinochet to power was typically eye-catching: a montage of the face of the dictator on the body and uniform of Fidel Castro. Inside were the usual mix of poems, photos, sex confessions, cartoons that mock leading politicians, the Catholic Church and mainstream newspapers. As has been the case since the magazine's origins, Pinochet is the butt of most jokes with comic strips of him as a Pinocchio doll - the lying puppet of US president Richard Nixon - and a mock-up of some of the things he might be doing if he were alive today (for example tweeting: "If you don't follow me, I will send the secret police to your home). | The cover for this week's 40th anniversary of the coup that brought Pinochet to power was typically eye-catching: a montage of the face of the dictator on the body and uniform of Fidel Castro. Inside were the usual mix of poems, photos, sex confessions, cartoons that mock leading politicians, the Catholic Church and mainstream newspapers. As has been the case since the magazine's origins, Pinochet is the butt of most jokes with comic strips of him as a Pinocchio doll - the lying puppet of US president Richard Nixon - and a mock-up of some of the things he might be doing if he were alive today (for example tweeting: "If you don't follow me, I will send the secret police to your home). |
| But there is more to the content than a send-up. In the past week The Clinic has led much of the serious coverage of the anniversary with the publication of a 68-page special issue and hundreds of articles, including investigative pieces that exposed torturers, probed the legacy of the coup and provoked debate on how much further democracy needs to progress in Chile. | But there is more to the content than a send-up. In the past week The Clinic has led much of the serious coverage of the anniversary with the publication of a 68-page special issue and hundreds of articles, including investigative pieces that exposed torturers, probed the legacy of the coup and provoked debate on how much further democracy needs to progress in Chile. |
| The Clinic itself is testimony to the transformation that has occurred in the past two decades. It traces its origins to a heated discussion over wine and pasta in the Da Noi restaurant in Santiago in October 1998 between a group of friends who were furious at the domestic media's timid coverage of Pinochet's arrest in London. They decided to create their own vehicle. | The Clinic itself is testimony to the transformation that has occurred in the past two decades. It traces its origins to a heated discussion over wine and pasta in the Da Noi restaurant in Santiago in October 1998 between a group of friends who were furious at the domestic media's timid coverage of Pinochet's arrest in London. They decided to create their own vehicle. |
| Initially deemed "more of an art project than a newspaper", the first few editions were produced clandestinely and circulated for free in coffee shops and bars in Santiago. The operation moved to a semi-commercial footing soon after with distribution through the many news kiosks in the downtown area, paid for by the three founders - Patricio Fernandez, Paul Dittborn and Mario Lobo - who each put up $2,000. It was a risky venture. Pinochet had stepped down several years earlier, but his shadow continued to loom large over Chile. The country had yet to pass a divorce law, TV program makers had to keep the censors happy, and there was little nightlife in Santiago. | Initially deemed "more of an art project than a newspaper", the first few editions were produced clandestinely and circulated for free in coffee shops and bars in Santiago. The operation moved to a semi-commercial footing soon after with distribution through the many news kiosks in the downtown area, paid for by the three founders - Patricio Fernandez, Paul Dittborn and Mario Lobo - who each put up $2,000. It was a risky venture. Pinochet had stepped down several years earlier, but his shadow continued to loom large over Chile. The country had yet to pass a divorce law, TV program makers had to keep the censors happy, and there was little nightlife in Santiago. |
| "At that time the nation was ultra-conservative and there was a lot of self-censorship," Fernandez told the Guardian. "There were many issues that no one dared to mention and pubic debate was restricted. Our publication came along as a disruptive presence. Some called us 'immoral', others 'terrorists'. But for many more, we were a liberating force." | "At that time the nation was ultra-conservative and there was a lot of self-censorship," Fernandez told the Guardian. "There were many issues that no one dared to mention and pubic debate was restricted. Our publication came along as a disruptive presence. Some called us 'immoral', others 'terrorists'. But for many more, we were a liberating force." |
| Back then, The Clinic was a thin bimonthly with an initial print run of just 13,000 copies. More than 500 editions later, it is now a weekly with almost 140,000 readers, 458,000 Twitter followers and a website with more than 3 million unique visitors a month – a notable achievement in a nation of 17.4 million people. | Back then, The Clinic was a thin bimonthly with an initial print run of just 13,000 copies. More than 500 editions later, it is now a weekly with almost 140,000 readers, 458,000 Twitter followers and a website with more than 3 million unique visitors a month – a notable achievement in a nation of 17.4 million people. |
| Since 2005 it has been the best selling magazine in Chile and it has inspired several imitators in the Spanish-speaking world. | Since 2005 it has been the best selling magazine in Chile and it has inspired several imitators in the Spanish-speaking world. |
| The anti-establishment organ still struggles to secure advertising from large companies, but history seems to be on its side. The media and political environment have changed enormously since The Clinic began operating. Caution about criticising Pinochet or delving into the dark secrets of his dictatorship has faded. Last week's most popular TV show wasCaravan of Death, about the military hit squads that travelled by helicopter to round up and execute political opponents in the wake of the 1973 coup. | The anti-establishment organ still struggles to secure advertising from large companies, but history seems to be on its side. The media and political environment have changed enormously since The Clinic began operating. Caution about criticising Pinochet or delving into the dark secrets of his dictatorship has faded. Last week's most popular TV show wasCaravan of Death, about the military hit squads that travelled by helicopter to round up and execute political opponents in the wake of the 1973 coup. |
| Echoes of the magazine's absurdist humour can also be seen in the creative forms of protest used by students in their ongoing battle for education reform. Past demonstrations include a mass Michael Jackson-style zombie , dance and a 15-minute kissathon, a non-stop running relay around the presidential palace and the participation of lipstick-wearing high school transvestites known as the Whores of Babylon. | Echoes of the magazine's absurdist humour can also be seen in the creative forms of protest used by students in their ongoing battle for education reform. Past demonstrations include a mass Michael Jackson-style zombie , dance and a 15-minute kissathon, a non-stop running relay around the presidential palace and the participation of lipstick-wearing high school transvestites known as the Whores of Babylon. |
| "Culturally speaking, Chile has undergone an important process of opening," says Fernandez. "I would say that the key moment for this openness was the arrest of Pinochet in London. I guess The Clinic helped a lot too, but I'd say our magazine was also a consequence of the liberating trends that led to his arrest. We are now seeing another generation, more rock-and-roll, less mournful and infinitely more brazen than those who were scared with the mental wounds of the past." | "Culturally speaking, Chile has undergone an important process of opening," says Fernandez. "I would say that the key moment for this openness was the arrest of Pinochet in London. I guess The Clinic helped a lot too, but I'd say our magazine was also a consequence of the liberating trends that led to his arrest. We are now seeing another generation, more rock-and-roll, less mournful and infinitely more brazen than those who were scared with the mental wounds of the past." |
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