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Neo-populist governments in South America have undertaken policies that tend to combat mediatic corporations and democratize communication. Parting from an analysis of the Argentine case, this article seeks to shed light on how these policies have not yet had an effect on sub-national media systems. Taking into account the relationships communications enterprises maintain with local governments, we propose a classification of sub-national media systems into the following three categories: patrimonial, where governments control most of the local media; polarized, where governments face strong opposition from, but still have allies within, the media; and hybrids, which are located under larger jurisdictions and have specific characteristics tied to their political and economic contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]