Hugo Chavez Brings Down the House in Copenhagen

A government decision not to renew the public broadcast license of private television station RCTV (which still transmits via cable and satellite), due to its consistent violations of Venezuela's Law on Responsibility in Television and Radio and active participation in the April 2002 military coup against Chavez, sparked an opposition outcry in May last year that there is "no freedom of expression" in Venezuela.

However, despite these claims, the vast majority of radio, television and print media remains in the private hands and are openly hostile to the government.

Gil argued that the Venezuelan people truly learnt the value of community TV during the military coup when the opposition forcefully shutdown media outlets such as Catia TV and state-owned Channel 8, while RCTV and other private TV channels broadcast false information.

Many government supporters argue that all the TV stations that actively participated in the military coup should be shut down and handed over to the people.

In recent weeks grass roots community groups have lodged a complaint with the Supreme Court calling for opposition private TV station, Globovision, to be investigated for violating media laws, saying it blatantly lies and manipulates information.

Even government opponents have slammed Globovision; a February 12 post on opposition blog site, Caracas Chronicles, criticized Globovision for its "frequently amateurish and breathlessly partisan reporting, at its role in keeping oppo supporters cooped up in a claustrophobic little bubble of know-nothing anti-Chávez fundamentalism."

http://www.reclaimthemedia.org/communications_rights/venezuela_strengthens_communit%3D5805

The Organic Telecommunications Law, which was passed in June 2000, states that there are three types of broadcast media in Venezuela: private, state and community. The law gives legal recognition to community broadcasting, enabling it to receive special tax breaks. In order to be recognized as a community broadcaster, the programming has to meet the following criteria. Principally, the station must be non-profit and dedicated to the community, with the requirement that 70% of its programming must be produced within the community. Also, there must be a separation between the station and its programming, which means that the station itself may only produce 15%, leaving the remainder to be produced by community volunteers. In addition, the station must provide training to community members so the production of media is accessible to everyone. The law also states that the directors of the community media cannot be party officials, members of the military, or work for private mass media.<3>

Although the Constitution of Venezuela recognizes community media, prior to the April 2002 coup against the Chávez government, these small television, radio and newspaper resources did not receive much attention from the state. While the community media normally supported the Chávez government, active support was not provided. At first, the primary goals of community centers were the right to exist and operate openly in society. Before Chávez was elected president, participating in community media was a clandestine activity and a victimized form of freedom of speech; homes and offices that housed community radio stations were often raided and operators feared for their lives. Community media stations have since multiplied, amplifying the voices of individuals and communities, increasing community communication and cohesion, fostering cultural awareness and political participation, and increasingly meeting the positive freedom of speech rights of Venezuelans. A new form of participatory communication based on local experiential knowledge is gaining popularity and influence.<4>

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/4678

Chavez blames Venezuela economic drop on OPEC oil output cut

President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday the Venezuela oil producer’s economic slide was largely due to its compliance with OPEC mandated oil output cuts as Venezuela GDP shrank 4.5 percent in the third quarter of 2009, a second consecutive three-month contraction that by most economists’ definition puts Venezuela in recession.

Though Venezuela is still heading for a smaller economic decline this year than plenty of other nations, Chavez critics have leapt on this week’s data as evidence of the failure of his decade-long socialist drive. Private sector investment and output have suffered in Venezuela’s state-driven model, with large swathes of the economy nationalized since Chavez came to power in 1999.

http://www.liveoilprices.co.uk/oil/opec_members/11/2009/chavez-blames-venezuela-economic-drop-on-opec-oil-output-cut