Chavez threatens to close TV channel critical of him

[cali]

Source: McClatchy


CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez is threatening again to shut down Globovision, the sole television channel in Venezuela that regularly criticizes him — saying it had stirred panic for reporting an earthquake before the government announced it.

"We're not going to tolerate a crazy man with a cannon shooting it at the whole world," Chavez said on his weekly television and radio show Sunday, referring to Alberto Ravell, the Globovision general manager. "Enough! . . . This has to end or I'll stop calling myself Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias."

"You are playing with fire, manipulating, inciting hate and much more. All of you: television networks, radio stations, papers," he said. "Don't make a mistake with me."

Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro followed up Monday by charging that Ravell had terrorized Venezuelan women and children with his 5:21 a.m. report.

<snip>



Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/67959.html

[lamp_shade]

1. Every time I read something like this I wonder... I really wonder... just how close the

Cheney/Bush cabal came to doing the same thing in the name of national security.

[cali]

3. I don't think they came close at all

they knew they could largely count on the corpmedia.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WriteDown]

10. How close....

they came to reporting an earthquake that actually happened? :shrug:

[irislake]

20. I believe in free speech

but when it crosses the line into hate speech and lies and incitement to violence I think it should be curbed. FOX really crosses the line in my opinion.

What Chavez is dealing with I dunno. Maybe he is dealing with a FOX.

We have nothing like FOX in Canada. Viewers would not tolerate it to begin with. Of course we can view FOX here and my friends are appalled by it.

[Judi Lynn]

2. The media against democracyVenezuela highlights the threat to freedom from corporate control

The media against democracyVenezuela highlights the threat to freedom from corporate control
Naomi Klein
The Guardian, Tuesday 18 February 2003 08.01 GMT

Poor Endy Chavez, outfielder for the Navegantes del Magallanes, one of Venezuela's big baseball teams. Every time he starts to bat, the TV sportscasters start with the jokes: "Here comes Chavez. No, not the pro-Cuban dictator Chavez, the other Chavez." Or "this Chavez hits baseballs, not the Venezuelan people".
In Venezuela, even sports commentators are enlisted in the commercial media's open bid to oust the elected government of Hugo Chavez. Andres Izarra, a Venezuelan TV journalist, says that the campaign has done so much damage to true information that the four private TV stations have effectively forfeited their right to broadcast. "I think their licences should be revoked," he says.

It's the sort of pronouncement one has come to expect from Hugo Chavez, known for nicknaming the stations "the four horsemen of the apocalypse". Izarra is harder to dismiss. A made-for-TV type he became news production manager for Venezuela's highest rated news programme.

On April 13 2002, the day after businessman Pedro Carmona briefly seized power, Izarra quit. Ever since, he has talked out against the threat posed to democracy when the media abandons journalism and pours itself into winning a war being waged over oil.

Venezuela's private TV stations are owned by wealthy families with stakes in defeating Chavez. Venevision, the most-watched network, is owned by Gustavo Cisneros, a mogul dubbed the "joint venture king" by the New York Post. The Cisneros Group has partnered many US brands - from AOL and Coca-Cola to Pizza Hut and Playboy - becoming a gatekeeper to the Latin American market.

Cisneros proselytises for free trade, telling the world, as he did in 1999, that "Latin America is now fully committed to free trade, and fully committed to globalisation ... As a continent it has made a choice". With voters choosing politicians like Chavez, that looks like false advertising.

Before the April coup, Venevision, RCTV, Globovision and Televen replaced regular programming with anti-Chavez speeches, interrupted by commercials calling on viewers to take to the streets. The ads were sponsored by the oil industry, but were carried as "public service announcements".

On the night of the coup, Cisneros's station hosted meetings among the plotters, including Carmona. The president of Venezuela's broadcasting chamber co-signed the decree dissolving the elected national assembly. And, while the stations rejoiced at news of Chavez's "resignation", when pro-Chavez forces mobilised for his return a news blackout was imposed.

More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/feb/18/venezuela.pressandpublishing

[Democracyinkind]

4. Thanks for that... I'm so tired of people routing for Venezuelas FOXNEWS .....

Globovision? The ones the company used in our failed coup? free speech? The Venezuelan power brokers, who pay violent gangsters to terrorize the country and prevent grass roots action, cry about free speech. Bizarro World.

You don't need to be on Chavez' side to be against those foxes.

[cali]

5. I think you mean rooting, not routing. It's early. Have another cup of java.

Pesonally, as a general rule, I don't think shutting down media is a sterling idea.

[Democracyinkind]

6. Rooting, not routing. It's noon here, so it's an honest mistake, no need to blame the morning.

I share your general rule. I just don't consider this a general situation.

Depends on the media. I wouldn't consider GLobovision "the media" . They have no other purpose than to fight Chavez. WOuldn't you think FOx has crossed a line when they would, say, force the Simpsons or Family Guy to include anti-Obama propaganda`? That's Globo. Pulling the full register.

The day that happens here I will be for shutting down fox too. I don't care if the media is biased, if it has a slant. But when its sole purpose is a political campaign then I think the rules change. Especially when the people funding the station are well known to have participated in the illegal coup attempt that we've drawn up.

Imagine Rupert being implicated in a coup against the current admin, that fails, and then Rupert decides to crank up the crazy on FOX and just lets them run wild in the obscure hope of stirring up enough people to label it a "revolution by the masses" and then give it another try? Somehow I don't think you would consider that democratic, or legal.
Not everyone reacts like FDR when confronted with a big-business coup.

[WriteDown]

9. Yeahm because news outlets shouldn't go reporting things

like earthquakes without govt permission. :eyes:

[Democracyinkind]

16. Oh yeah, ....because the earthquake reporting is the real, underlying debate.

Really`? Globo and Chavez were friends before the earthquake? Sorry, I didn't know that. Must be some kind of other Globovision that keeps telling me that Chavez is the "Antichrist".

If their reporting of the earthquake was done in the same manner as their other stuff, it's almost a sure bet they used that tragedy to somehow blame Chavez personally for it etc, etc... Seen that.... I remember how they blamed Chavez' policy for the drought and other stuff... It's just ridiculous. I'm not for shutting down media per se, but Globo is more than "Fox on Steroids". Their sole reason of broadcast is to be anti-chavez.

Again, imagine Rupert Murdoch would be implicated in a foreign lead, unsuccessful coup attempt against Obama. Suppose Rupert's deeds would be in the open, but that he wouldn't be tried or detained. Imagine that he would be able to keep his media network, and would start the most bizarre, hateful, full-of-shit no matter how absurd campaign against Obama, telling people to be "armed and dangerous",.... Really, imagine that for a moment. Imagine Hannity saying out loud on TV that Obama wasn't legally elected, is a dirty muslim and that it's time to take to the streets in arms and overthrow him. Keep in mind that you would be aware of the fact that Hannity in this case was just Rupert's tool, trying to deceitfully achieve what Ruports foiled, shadowy coup failed to do. We would be talking a 24/7 barrage of Anti-Obama shit, where stuff that is now confined to hate-groups and extreme RW (Think Savage, or whoever is the worst imaginable RW hater out there) would be served as the regular program. Wouldn't you have sympathy for Obama then, when he would counter those allegations in a determined, strong way`?

Again, you do not have to be for Chavez to be against Globo. THat there is pro-Globo reporting, that calls Globo "the last free media" of Venezuela, boggles my mind. It really speaks for the imperial disease of denial. I think we've got more in common with the people of Venezuala than we have with the hawks at Globo.
I stopped being pro-Chavez a few years ago, although I still support much of the movement he thrones or represents, however you wanna see that. I have some strong objections to some of his policies, domestic and foreign, but I still think that he comes closer to representing the interest of Venezuelans than anyone before him. In principle, that is.
But anyway, that doesn't change the fact that Globo is the fascists mouthpiece. It's not even Pilgerish to say that anymore.

[WriteDown]

18. The issue is the earthquake...

A better move would be for Hugito to seize The United States Geological equipment in the name of the people and use it to record earthquakes first. :sarcasm:

[Democracyinkind]

22. Mhh-mm. Ok. it is for you then. good luck with that.

Reading helps.

[WriteDown]

23. Don't wish me luck..

Wish Hugito luck. I'm sure its all part of the plan. The article is pretty black and white.

[dotymed]

19. I agree, Democracyinkind

Like Naomi Klein said, the difference is, in America the media
is with the government. It is because both of them are
elitist, corporate-owned entities who only care about money.
In general, I am very opposed to the idea of interfering with
the media. Unfortunately, the media is no longer the champion
of the people. It is now (universally) the propaganda machine
for corporations.
Unfortunately, I can understand Chavez closing down these
corporate schills. Of course, all you'll hear from our media
and government is what a tyrant Chavez is. Our government
along with the elite, monied oil executives have been trying
to overthrow Chavez every since he was overwhelmingly elected
by his poor countrymen. He has done more than any other leader
in History to help the impoverished people of his country and
the world. If we had more leaders like him, what a great
planet this would be.

[ronnie624]

30. Well put, dotymed.

"...I am very opposed to the idea of interfering with the media. Unfortunately, the media is no longer the champion of the people. It is now (universally) the propaganda machine for corporations."

:thumbsup:

[Warren Stupidity]

7. thanks as always Judi for tirelessly fighting the rw disinfo here.

don't think for a minute that your efforts are unappreciated or ineffective.

[Democracyinkind]

13. misclicked answer, sorry.

wasn't for you if you read it.

edited b/c answrered 2 the wrong post.

Couldn't agree more with yours.

[Judi Lynn]

32. You have no idea what a boost it is to have read your post. Thank you so much, Warren Stupidity. n/

[Dave From Canada]

25. The so-called coup is to Chavez as 911 is to Bush. An excuse to do anything, even years later.

[Dreamer Tatum]

26. Exactly

Had W threatened to take any channel off the air for criticizing him, condemnation for that would be unanimous here, no questions or discussion. But St Hugo the Oppressed...that's another story. There are ALL SORTS of shades of grey, aren't there?

[Judi Lynn]

27. You need to take the time to grasp what happened during that coup. "So-called?"

DU'ers sat on the edges of our chairs for a couple of days while a DU'er who was living in Caracas at the time made continous reports throughout the ordeal.

We were following the "so called" coup moment by moment. I don't think you'd find any one of us who'd be able to respect what you wrote.

[ronnie624]

33. What a preposterous analogy from that poster.

As if the threats to the Bolivarian government ended with the failed coup d'etat, or that the Bush administration was ever threatened by multiple attempts to overthrow it.

Ridiculous.

[Dhalgren]

11. Another paid ad for the anti-Chavez

corporations. Dog, I hate stupid...

[RedCloud]

12. Tyler Bridges eh? Objective or always anti-Chávez?

Judge for yourself:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/265/

[Democracyinkind]

14. Dog, I hate pro-Empire bullshit.

Now that I've read a bit about the article and the guy writing it... Isn't that something you would want to post on freerepublic? Just an idea. I bet they will like it.

Gotta love empire.

[RedCloud]

15. Oh no! Globovision exaggerated the situation. El Universal reports no damage.

An earthquake shakes central Venezuela
A 5.4-degree magnitude quake hit on Monday, May 04 the central region of Venezuela at 4:40 a.m. (local time), with no material damages or fatalities reported. The epicenter was located 3.4 km deep and 14 km southwest Los Teques, central Miranda state

http://english.eluniversal.com/2009/05/08/en_ing_esp_an-earthquake-shakes_08A2322009.shtml

And the best the OP can do is get pro-business news and report from an Anti-Chavista reporter? Does the OP even realize that the media tried to cover up a businessman's coup by not reporting THAT? I would be steamed if I were POTUSOV!

That's President of the United States of Venezuela. How's that for their official name?

[RedCloud]

17. Why wing nuts and their lackeys fear Chávez!

Constitución de los Estados Unidos de Venezuela <1947>

http://www.analitica.com/bitblio/anc/constitucion1947.asp

That is Venezuela's official name, gringos. It does not mean they own Los Estados Unidos de América. But de América suggests that it belongs to América which is from Alaska to Ushuaia.

And before you Obama was guilty of meeting a pseudo-Marxist when he was 8 crowd start to yap, check out the date of the Constitution and figure out the birth date of Chávez.

[JackRiddler]

21. Hooray for JudiLynn, striking lightning on the daily push of anti-VN propaganda.

[Judi Lynn]

31. We get a load of it, don't we? Thank you, JackRiddler. The facts never support them! n/t

[JackRiddler]

24. Imperialist propagandists attack Venezuela daily in effort to impose CIA death-squad dictatorship

[JonQ]

28. Of course they were lying

Certainly Chavez wouldn't tolerate earthquakes in his country. Nor poverty, or rioting, or hunger, or injustice, or hurt feelings or scraped knees. So any negative reports must be lies. It's all quite logical.

[IndianaGreen]

29. Globovision is Venezuelan version of Faux and Rush Limbaugh rolled into one

and we should consider yanking Rush Limbaugh and Faux's broadcast licenses for inciting hate.