Founded 1998 Website theclinic.cl | Headquarters Santiago, Chile | |
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Type Weekly newspaper/magazine | ||
The Clinic is a Chilean satirical/investigative newspaper founded by Patricio Fernández Chadwick in November 1998. The paper includes a wide mix of cultural criticism, jokes, in-depth interviews, and investigative work. The name was inspired by Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's October 1998 arrest in Britain at The London Clinic, which bears the name The Clinic on its façade. In its first incarnation, it was only a few pages long, distributed only within Santiago, and costing 100 pesos (US¢22 at the time). Over the years, it has changed drastically, and now costs 900 pesos (US$1.75 in 2013) and averages forty pages. Today, it is published every Thursday during normal operation times (it usually takes February off) and published its 499th edition on June 20, 2013.
Contents
Humor
One of its humor features is done in a style reminiscent of Sergio Aragones' marginal cartoons in Mad Magazine: at the bottom of each page (except the covers), the statement Sabía usted que...( Did you know that...?) is printed and followed by a remark which can be obscene, witty, snarky, or impenetrable, but is always very short. Another hallmark of the people is its "shocking" covers, which often contain near-nudity and photoshopped heads, along with ironic or double-entendre captions.
Editorial stance
The Clinic covers current events from a generally leftist position, showing contempt for almost all other media outlets in the country, and mocking politicians of all stripes, from former military dictator Augusto Pinochet to the late communist leader Gladys Marín.
The Clinic is also critical of what it calls "lazy reporting" and many times it has criticized the centrist and center-left governments that have ruled Chile after its transition to democratic government.