Telemundo: Venezuela Halts Transmission

[Joanne98]

Telemundo: Venezuela Halts Transmission
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4376202.html

© 2006 The Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela — Officials identifying themselves as members of a state regulatory agency forced the U.S.-based Spanish-language TV network Telemundo to halt transmission Sunday of its presidential election coverage.

"We're surprised by this," said Pablo Iacub, a member of Telemundo's eight-person team, which arrived last week. "We only want to do our work," he said by telephone.

At least six people who identified themselves as members of the National Commission of Telecommunications (CONATEL), which regulates electronic media in Venezuela, arrived Sunday afternoon at the hotel from which Telemundo had been transmitting since Friday, said Iacub.

The officials said the network needed permission to transmit and lacking such could not, he said. Iacub said he was unaware of such a requirement but that the Telemundo journalists were accredited with Venezuela's national elections council.

Iacub said the Telemundo team asked how they could obtain permission and, after an hour, were told that they would not be able to transmit.

Telemundo Communications Group is owned by NBC Universal

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4376202.html

Notice that GE the ARMS DEALER owns the Spanish media in Mexico, the US has influence in Venezuela. No wonder so many real reporters are dying in Oaxana.

[robcon]

1. Not surprised.

Chavez is a Castro-wanna-be, and his need to silence any free press is paramount.

[Joanne98]

2. He shut down GE the arms dealer. So what. I wish we could do that.

[Rage for Order]

57. Yeah, that'll kickstart the economy

Shut down GE. They have $160 billion in sales annually in just about every line of business you can think of, and employ tens of thousands of people, paying them well and providing good benefits. However, one segment of their business deals with weapons so we should shut the entire company down! The poeple who work there will just have to take one for the team, but I'm sure they'll understand.

[Webster Green]

5. Bullshit!

He just won another election.

Give the "dictator" bullshit a rest, will 'ya?

[robcon]

13. You don't want freedom of the press?

Now I am surprised. Do you want to shut down Fox News, too?

[Webster Green]

17. Chavez is fighting U.S. interference in his country's affairs..

..The chimp's black 0ps fuckers are there, trying to influence the election. The media there is infiltrated with chimpistas.

Fuck 'em!

[Freddie Stubbs]

95. One would think that he would want the international press there so

that they can report on these facts.

[Teaser]

19. I'm just happy it's irritated you.

I hope lots more stuff pisses you off tomorrow.

[RedCloud]

21. Have you even lived for 1 second in Venezuela?

I lived there for six years. What Chavez is doing is nothing compared to the time Carlos Andres Perez shut down the media and people were shot and killed. The press there has its roots in the corruption of the Social and Christian democrats and yet said nothing. They were a big part of the problem.

Worse things have happened.

And during the Venezuelan food riots where hundreds were killed our "free press" was busy egging on protesters at Tienanmen Square. More Venezuelans died then than in China but only a bleep on the news radar.

Also the oil companies were never nationalized in 1976 except in name. Thousands of Gringos are still there running the show in Coro, Estado Falcon near the oil fields.

[flyarm]

60. i lived in Venezuela in 77 and 78 and i agree with you!!

Perez was a white house whore...and oil company whore..i know i met him several times and was at xmas parties and new years parties with his administration ..i danced numerous times with the VP of venezuela and i told him i thought how they treated women and the poor was dispicable...

he said i was a spoiled American idealist!

under Perez the US oil companies ran Venezuela..and only the top echelon of people of Venezuela benefitted..

i saw rich Venezuelan men put cigarettes out on little children for the pure sport of it ..for a Bolivar..it was heart breaking...and they laughed when i tried to stop them from doing so..

Perez was a pig...

and so were the corporate heads of our US oil companies!

fly

[w4rma]

69. If I could recommend individual posts, I would recommond yours right now, flyarm. (nt)

[Judi Lynn]

70. I agree with w4rma, flyarm. I still remember the last posts on Venezuela you wrote, which I read.

Any time you want to discuss the time you spent there is only an education for us, since we are hearing it from someone who definitely knows EXACTLY what she is saying.

It sounded as if they believed their rule would NEVER end during the time you were there. I hope it is never allowed again, and that the Venezuelan people will be able to keep Venezuela free for Venezuelans.

[humbled_opinion]

91. So what I think Congress should shut off Rush Limpballs. n/t

[raccoon]

96. Flyarm, where did they do this?

"i saw rich Venezuelan men put cigarettes out on little children for the pure sport of it "

I mean, were they street kids, or what?

And that's disgusting anybody would be so arrogant and sadistic.

[lateo]

23. "freedom of the press" when the press isn't free...

The concept of press freedom is a rather ridiculous notion when "the press" is a large corporate interest only concerned with image creation and not real reporting.

Chavez is well aware of the media's role in the last coup attempt in his country so you can hardly blame him.

[katsy]

25. We have freedom of the press.

Freedom to lie, distort, gung ho on a repubican agenda, interview 2 repubics for every Democrat, protect their own corporate interests.

Shut down? No. Break up the corporate monopoly - yes.

I'm waiting to see if this is another distortion courtesy of the cia/bushco* before I condemn President Chavez.

[IndianaGreen]

56. We have freedom of the owners of the mega media to propagandize

As to Faux News, it should be shut down for it is nothing more than a rightwing propaganda arm.

The airwaves belongs to the people, not the mega media corporations.

[Up2Late]

74. Exactly, I couldn't have said it better.

Fox "news" in NOT and never was News. It's RW Opinion and Propaganda. (period)

[grayokc]

97. CABLE

CABLE uses no airwaves.

[liberaltrucker]

59. Hell yes!!!

nt

[conscious evolution]

93. I don't want them shut down

I just want to see them tried for war crimes.There is precedent. http://foi.missouri.edu/newsmgmtabroad/crtconvicts.html
http://www.washtimes.com/world/20031203-113817-3449r.htm

[Cleita]

12. Yes, but is this free press or propaganda press? n/t

[cali]

26. I have to say, it really doesn't matter.

Fox news is certainly propaganda. I don't want it shut down. BTW, I am no anti Chavez in the least. I think he's done good things in Venazuela.

[Webster Green]

27. I want it shut down!

It's not news.

They have NO right to pretend to be "news", while they spout the White House talking points 24/7.

We the people should have taken it upon ourselves to shut them down long ago.

It still may have to happen that way.

[cali]

37. I suggest you read the first amendment.

Of course it's news. It's slanted and has a right wing POV, not mention a high sleaze factor, but it's about freedom of speech, and you folks who want to shut it down, are profounndly wrong and deeply, and I do mean deeply, anti-democratic. You scare me more than Fos news.

[Webster Green]

43. Bullshit!

It is the opposite of free speech. The assholes with all the money own all the news outlets, and control what we are allowed to hear.

That is not free speech!

[treestar]

83. In all fairness you can still get around them

While encouraging others to do so, too.

They don't control what we want to hear in the sense that we can seek out other news sources and spread that information to others, and others will see the truth - that Fox is a propaganda arm of the Republican party and is lying when they say they are fair and balanced.

[gorbal]

47. Shut down?; No; Held Accountable for lies and slander...?

YES! There used to be rules about honesty in the business of journalism. We all can see what happened when these rules were relaxed. A news organization owned by an arms dealer can spew it's dihonest, fearmongering propaganda, whereever it wills it without fear of prosecution..

[Judi Lynn]

71. It's not news if it's not the TRUTH. It is chicanery, perception molding,

propaganda, lies, half-truths, deceit, and if it's not the TRUTH, it is NOT NEWS. It is NOT actual honest communication.

The fact they can have open access to the helpless minds of American idiots (until they learn to evaluate what the hell they are being told!) and that they ABUSE that intimate access shouldn't be allowed.

NEWS ONLY IF IT'S THE TRUTH. Anything else is political crap and manipulation, and it takes advantage of the public's ignorance to deceive it.

[melm00se]

81. there is a difference

between "truth" (subjective) and "facts" (objective)

While Fox may be biased, slanted and the like, they still do have the right to broadcast...

the true measure of freedom of speech is when you stand up for the speech you least agree with.

[Webster Green]

84. I respectully disagree..

When the powerful corporations have a monopoly on media ownership, and they act as a propaganda outlet for a corrupt administration, that is not free speech.

These bastards use the first ammendment argument to say that any limitations on campaign contributions limits their "freedom of speech". I call bullshit! That allows the wealthiest corporations to flood the airwaves with campaign ads for whatever flunkie they choose to represent their interests. It isn't fair, and it isn't free speech.

[Judi Lynn]

86. They deal in disinformation, which is not merely exercising freedom of speech. n/t

[MetaTrope]

94. Fox has the "facts"?

So, is child-molester Foley still a "Democrat", as Fox repeatedly said?

[Cleita]

28. He's trying to do good things in Venezuela.

If left alone he seems to have the intelligence to be able to reconcile the very poor and the very rich. Our country is interfering AGAIN!

I don't agree about FOX. Rupper Murdoch is not American and yet is using this propaganda network to further the agenda of globalists who have no interest in our country. I think they should be shut down for treason.

I think this is Hugo Chavez's point. He is going to have to do unpopular acts to stabilize his country. Strong men do.

[Name removed]

48. Deleted message

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

[zreosumgame]

89. huh, but dumbaya having journalists targeted and killed in Iraq is OK?

[Name removed]

90. Deleted message

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

[Joanne98]

3. This election is over. I'm going to bed. GOD BLESS HUGO CHAVEZ!

[Robbien]

4. If a foreign television station came into the US and started broadcasting

on election night, the entire US government would storm that foreign television station and shut it down.

Telemundo doesn't have a license to broadcast in Venezuela.

It should be closed down.

[cali]

7. You're kidding right?

Foreign stations from every part of the globe broadcast from the US during elections.

[Robbien]

8. But they get permission to broadcast first

Telemundo did not.

[cali]

22. No. It doesn't appear as if that is the case.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1276.html

[StrictlyRockers]

9. Are they able to do that withoug obtaining the necessary permits and jumping...

...through numerous bureaucratic hoops? And do you know whether the government has ever denied a journalist or organization a permit? I don't think we would know about it...they would not be broadcasting here.

SR

[Benhurst]

42. Thanks, Robbien, for posting what I was getting ready to write. NT

:toast:

[madrchsod]

6. freedom of the press? don`t think so.....

i guess they are afraid of getting the news to america....

[Robbien]

10. Telemundo is OWNED by America's powerful elite

Telemundo wanted to broadcast BushCo's word TO Venezuela.

Think of Fox New on steroids.

[StrictlyRockers]

11. I think they are more afraid of getting their news from "America".

(As represented here by GE/NBC)

[robcon]

14. Chavez wants to end the private press.

He sure sounds like Castro's lapdog...

Chavez backs possible vote to close private TV stations
POSTED: 8:52 a.m. EST, December 1, 2006

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez backed the possibility of holding a national referendum, if he's re-elected, on whether to shut down private television stations that he has accused of subversive activities.

Chavez's comments late Thursday came amid rising tensions between the government and the country's largely opposition-aligned private media ahead of Sunday's vote..."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/12/01/chavez.venezuela.election.ap/index.html

[antiimperialist]

20. Your comment is misleading

He didn't say he wanted to end private press. He said he wanted to ask THE PEOPLE if they wanted those SUBVERSIVE media outlets to be shut down.

Stop misleading.

[hughee99]

58. Now I'm confused...

If the "subversive" media outlets are doing something illegal, wouldn't it be the government's responsibility to shut them down? If they're not doing anything illegal, is he going to let the people vote to shut down media outlets that aren't breaking any laws?

[Cleita]

29. I would really like to see the Spanish. Did he say corporate

press or private press. There is a difference.

[Marie26]

65. Chavez doesn't like the media

And they don't like him. He suspects (w/some reason) that the big media companies supported a recent coup attempt, and so now is giving payback.

[Peace Patriot]

15. Consider the source. AP. Disgustingly anti-Chavez, articles could be

written by Bush State Department. It wouldn't surpise me if this Telemundo setup was CIA/psyops, part of the plan to foment riots, on cue. But I really don't believe a word that AP writes about Venezeula without independent verification.

The corporate news monopolies in Venezuela are 24/7 anti-Chavez, and even colluded in the 2002 violent military coup attempt, spreading disinformation for those who were kidnapping Chavez and killing people. A disgusting lot. But they broadcast freely.

Good source on Chavez and Venezuela: www.venezuelanalysis.com

[robcon]

16. You seem to rue the "But they broadcast freely " part.

Do you seriously think that the private press in Venezuela should be shut down?

[ret5hd]

24. wow...talk about putting words in peopls mouths. (nt)

[papau]

32. I did not catch all private press in Venezuela being shut down - or even a forced change of

ownership and control, or even a demand that the right wing lies about Chavez being printed and broadcast 24/7/365 should stop.

Do you have the name of the TV outlet that supports his party or anything he is doing? How about a print outlet? and what is the circulation of papers that support him? Is there a government owned/controlled media in Venezuela? There does seem to be corporate owned and controlled and lying media that sucks up to rich - just like in the US.

Do the require by legal regulation of the TV media, albeit regulations passed by the Chavez government, relatively short "government point of view" times required to be in the schedule offset the other 22(? - the exact hour split I have forgotten) hours of venom and hate put out against Chavez - or do they destroy free speech?

[gorbal]

75. He is planning to push for a vote on the matter

He is going to throw the issue over to the people so that he is not considered a vicious dictator if he does it himself; good move to let the people decide. I think it might be better if he passed some good-old anti-monopoly and honesty laws concerning the media, however. For the short while we had them in the US they worked very well.

[papau]

80. Reagan's veto of the Fairness Act was a disaster for democracy - I agree Chavez

should do a fairness act with loss of license approach, rather than a close down and government takeover referendum - indeed I had not heard that such a ballot was promised - as opposed to being a threat used to attempt to cut down/cut back the Fox like approach currently in place.

I'd like to see the license transferred to unions or groups now helping the poor, with capital to buy the equipment now being used by the rich and corporate (but which will be surplussed once they lose their license) being provided/financed by Government guaranteed loans. I'd agree that government owned/run TV and newspapers would be a big mistake.

Thanks for the heads up on the (possibly) coming referendum.

[Binka]

76. I Have A Christmas Wish That Has You In It! n/t

[Andrushka]

64. Telemundo and RCTV

are very close, apparently.

And what is RCTV? Channel 2...main instigators of the 2002 coup attempt.

There's more than likely more to this than meets the eye, and if they weren't playing by the rules, that's just too bad. This isn't some suppression of "free speech" - I'd say that it's the government applying the rules that are in place. Note that the regulation in question wasn't questioned by Telemundo and they don't deny they had no permission.

[antiimperialist]

18. Chavez didn't halt opposition-linked Globovision

or any other private media institution.


So stop exaggerating.

[David__77]

30. I'm glad that some foreign policy right-wingers post on DU.

It's good for sharpening the debate. Chavez is an anti-imperialist and a democrat. He's been far too lenient with fascsit coup plotters and subversives who have not an ounce of respect for the duly constituted order. All those who signed the coup decrees should be tried for treason, not running for president. The media and corporate bosses who collaborated should be legally expropriated and kept in check. All through the legal people's power.

[Heewack]

31. Chavez is a joke

This is just another example. Before the Chavez apologists chime in, yes, I have done my research and he isn;t helping the poor quite like you would like to believe. Take off the blinders.

[Mika]

34. Links please.

Please post some links to help with the blinders.

Thnkx

[Heewack]

40. You'll have to do that on your own.

While I do enjoy public service, I'm afraid I don't have the time to be your educator tonight.

[Binka]

77. You Are Both Arrogant And Rude

If you are going to post assertions about Chavez the onus is on you to back them up.

[papau]

35. So we blamed him for the Venzuewala stock markets 129% rise last year because it

did not help the poor.

Or do we blame him for actually funding programs for the non-rich, unlike our current US president.

Just what has he promised to do and not done that makes you say "he isn't helping the poor quite like you would like to believe".

[Heewack]

41. You might want to read up on those programs that have been promised

but not delivered. Bunch of empty promises while he funds neighboring countries to the tune of billions.

[papau]

50. Poor Gov financial controls/corruption w/ lack of job growth w/ inflation -BUT

Chavez's strongest support being among the poor and working class in a country where 34 percent live on less than $3 a day does not seem hard to understand. I grant the problems mentioned in the title of this post - plus little importance attached to long range planning - but I still say Chavez is good for Venezuela. The massive theft by our oil companies and the local rich has ended.

In any case:

From Fox News: "Antonio Mugnolo, a hardware store owner who has known Chavez since boyhood, says the president has made a difference by improving schools and roads. "But he should have done a lot more," he says, complaining of corruption and inefficiency in the local government"

"...while in Sabaneta, Chavez — for the second time — inaugurated a sugar processing plant he promised would be Latin America's most modern by next August. The only visible progress since he first inaugurated the plant two years ago was a small, makeshift building."

He promises a new "21st-century socialism" which aims to redistribute the country's oil wealth to the poor, mainly through programs that provide everything from subsidized food to cash benefits for single mothers.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0817-01.htm

Published on Tuesday, August 17, 2004 by CommonDreams.org

She went on to tell me how her life had changed since he came to power. After living in the barrio for 40 years, she now had a formal title to her home and a bank loan to fix the roof so it wouldn’t leak. Thanks to the Cuban dentists and a program called “Rescatando la sonrisa”—recovering the smile—for the first time in her life she was able to get her teeth fixed. And her daughter is in a job training program to become a nurse’s assistant.

Getting more and more animated, Olivia dragged me over to a poster on the wall showing Hugo Chavez with a throng of followers and a list of Venezuela’s new social programs that read: “The social programs are ours, let’s defend them.” Then slowly and laboriously, she began reading the list of social programs: literacy, health care, job training, land reform, subsidized food, small loans. I asked her if she was just learning to read and write as part of the literacy program. That’s when she started crying. “Can you imagine what’s it has meant to me, at 52 years old, to now have a chance to read?” she said. “It’s transformed my life.”

Walk through poor barrios in Venezuela and you’ll hear the same stories over and over. The very poor can now go to a designated home in the neighborhood to pick up a hot meal every day. The elderly have monthly pensions that allow them to live with dignity. Young people can take advantage of greatly expanded free college programs. And with 13,000 Cuban doctors spread throughout the country and reaching over half the population, the poor now have their own family doctors on call 24-hours a day—doctors who even make house calls. This heath care, including medicines, are all free.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/05/08/special_reports/life_times/17_56_015_7_05.txt

In Venezuela, Chavez's oil revolution pumps money into programs for the poor

By: IAN JAMES - Associated Press

SABANETA, Venezuela -- Workers are cutting sugar cane on fields that once lay fallow, stitching together T-shirts at state-funded cooperatives and building thousands of homes to replace shantytowns...The state oil company is paying to build medical clinics and support government "missions," ranging from adult education programs to state-run markets. The government says oil money helped build 15,000 homes for the poor in 2004, and this year 120,000 more are planned. Across the country, oil proceeds are flowing to about 130 centers with agricultural and industrial cooperatives. One center, built at an abandoned fuel depot in Caracas, has a sign over the gate that reads, "Venezuela: Now It Belongs to Everyone." It includes a farming cooperative, shoe factory and textile plant. "We are 280 people, and all of us are owners of this business," said textile worker Marisol Bechara, 33. She earns a monthly stipend of 168,000 bolivars, or about $78, studies in a program to finish high school and shops at a state market where food prices are up to half off those at private supermarkets.<snip>
Before Chavez, the state oil company never directly funded social programs but rather paid taxes to the government, which doled out some funds.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,231397,00.html

Oil Money Aids Venezuela's Poor, for Now
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
AP

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — ...Katiuska Oliveros is still pleased to find rice, margarine and pasta at exceedingly low prices, emblazoned with promotional slogans like "When the people have needs, its revolutionary government responds!" The 27-year-old mother fills her shopping basket, adding in beans, matches and two bottles of cooking oil, and moves on to the cash register where she hands over the equivalent of $5.12 — easily half what she would pay at a commercial supermarket.

Millions of Venezuelans like her have come to rely on the heavily subsidized state-run grocery stores established by the government of President Hugo Chavez, and she says it's a big reason why she will vote to re-elect him in Dec. 3 elections.<snip>

Government statistics show the percentage of Venezuelans in poverty has declined from about 44 percent in 1998 to less than 34 percent today, while the number considered extremely poor fell from 17 percent to nearly 10 percent.<snip>

Terry Lynn Karl, a Stanford University professor who studies development efforts by oil-producing countries, says a lack of adequate financial controls has for decades encouraged corruption in Venezuela, and the problem remains today.<snip>

[flyarm]

61. Chavez has done a hell of alot more for the poor than Perez did

Perez who was owned by Texaco and Standard oil..and all our other oil companies that owned Perez!

[Judi Lynn]

72. What do you know which hasn't been published?

He bought debt from some countries, which they will repay. How is that "funding?"

By the way, when you make charges, it most certainly IS your responsibility to provide your evidence, and you don't shove your opinion down people's throats.

Back up your charges. It's not our duty to investigate your wild claims. It's your duty to provide links to your sources.

That's the way it's done. Maybe not at the Yahoo boards, or Freepland, but certain here, by God.

[Richard Steele]

88. Actually, most of us have. That's how we know your claims are bogus.

Even the most cursory study of the actual EVIDENCE
makes it clear that your claims are ridiculous
distortions, AT BEST.

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

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

[Richard Steele]

63. Well, that settles THAT, then! Heewack has spoken.

Pfft.

[Name removed]

78. Deleted message

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

[LynnTheDem]

87. Follow your own advice.

Take off your blinders.

It doesn't take much research to discover the FACT that Chavez was democratically elected by a huge margin.

[bluestateguy]

33. This is very disturbing

How would we feel if President Hillary Clinton ORDERED Fox News off the air?

[papau]

38. Chavez has not ordered any domestic media off the air - and Bush has ordered

foreign media to not broadcast from the US.

Indeed our sat system carries none of the independent arab channels, even the one in english is not carried.

As to your question, I am all for questioning Fox owned TV stations licenses at their next renewal on the basis of not serving the public good of this country - but rich folks never get called for what they do, and especially not since Reagan vetoed the fairness law - so I expect Fox to be around a long time with both its production of lying "content" and with its outlets for those lies being owned by Fox.

[zeemike]

39. No that is not an equal comparison

How would we feel if President Hillary Clinton asked for a referendum on bringing fairness to the media news and let the people decide whether they wanted a truly fair and balanced news.
Democracy is such a pain in the ass to the powerful and elite.

[Minstrel Boy]

44. Can Al Jazeera broadcast in the US?

Can Hezbollah TV?

Those are fairer comparisons.

[bluestateguy]

46. No they can't and that's wrong

But people can't keep turning accusations back onto the US whenever a foreign leader does something wrong.

[Pavulon]

51. because of market forces, no

but it is not blocked by the feds.

[papau]

52. LOL - :-) Think a defense contract is in the future of a conglomerate that brings it to US? n/t

n/t

[tkmorris]

54. Yes it is

"A New York man was arrested yesterday on charges that he conspired to support a terrorist group by providing U.S. residents with access to Hezbollah's satellite channel, al-Manar."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/24/AR2006082401461.html

[Pavulon]

55. Hezbolla is illegal, Al jazerra (and other arab news)

are not. However it is not on th lineup because most people will not pay to see it.

You go to jail for giving money to hezbolla.

[Marie26]

66. Yeah

Anyone w/a satellite TV can watch Al-Jazeera. There's no local channel, but that's quite different from actually shutting down a station, as Chavez did.

[flyarm]

62. i would feel alot more comfortable if the FCC would hold fox accountable to

telling truth instead of propaganda!

free does not mean lie...

the air time in the USA is owned by each and every American..the media is given our air time to be the fourth estate..they have a responsibility to tell the American people the truth..if they do not and deliberatley lie..they should be removed from using our air time free!

they should be held accountable...

[bemildred]

36. Try broadcasting in the USA without getting licensed by the FCC.

See how long you last.

[lakeguy]

45. do radio stations need a permit to transmit here or can i go

to some hotel and start up my own radion station? maybe i could call my first program, "how to overthrow your govt."

oh wait, maybe that one has been done already somewhere else. darn.

[Pavulon]

53. And heads hand for the sand

check out the excuses for this.

BTW al jazeera is broadcast in the us.

Indymedia, etc.. Lots of "subversive" sources broadcast all the time.

[Solon]

68. I think you need to know the difference between a public broadcast and other systems.

Here's a breakdown, Indymedia, as you gave as an example, usually runs a program or two on LICENSED RADIO STATIONS, they also have some satellite stations that run some programs(FSTV, LinkTV), which are NOT regulated directly by the FCC.

OK, let's say you want to start up a local TV or radio station that is run over public airwaves, you need to acquire a license, first and foremost. This is because of 2 reasons, first, the airwaves are considered "public domain" and therefore no one can "own" them, so they are under Government jurisdiction. The Second reason is more pragmatic, there is limited bandwidth, whether its AM, FM, UHF, or VHF.

If you are given a permit by the FCC for this station, the permit will "allot" you a specific band on the radio waves to use, it also restricts the power and range of the broadcast, and sometimes, the time of day for said broadcasts. Some bands are restricted to be only used by the government, mostly for Military communications, and emergency services. Also, as a condition of the permit, you must abide by the EBS(Emergency Broadcast System), etc.

The most obvious reason that the government regulates the airwaves so heavily is because of interference, you may be approved for a radio station in your city or town, but a radio station the next town over may run on the same frequency, so they WILL limit the range of your broadcasts, so the interference is minimized. These systems used to be subject to the "Fairness Doctrine" as well, though Reagan threw out that bit of regulation.

If you do ANYTHING to violate the permit, it WILL be revoked, and the station shut down. Also, if you are caught transmitting without a license, you will be shut down, period. There are exceptions though, there is an "unregulated" band you can use, basically its low power transmitters, these are radio broadcasts that are so limited in power that the interference is negligible. The only condition of these transmitters is that they MUST accept interference from other systems and NOT interfere with licensed broadcasts. Sometimes certain bands are reserved for these systems as well.

Satellite and Cable TV are regulated much differently, mostly because they generally do not cause interference of other systems, and also they do not take up the airwaves. In the case of cable, its mostly a "regulated" Monopoly, at least on the local or regional level. I cannot get Comcast cable where I live, as an example, only Charter, but the Government is supposed to protect me from price gouging, etc. Satellite systems also are regulated, mostly through anti-trust regulations, an example is this, I have DishTV, however, many stations ON DishTV carry commercials for DirectTV, its competitor, and the reverse is true as well.

All the cable and satellite companies cannot interfere with the stations they have contracts with, those stations are free to broadcast anything they want, within reason, and advertise with anyone they want as well.

There is one other thing, shortwave radio is almost completely unregulated, part of the reason is because its limited in bandwidth, and is only useful for extremely long ranges. See, most radio frequencies are limited by "line of sight", that's the reason most major radio and TV stations have either huge antennas that are a couple of hundred feet high, or antennas on roofs of skyscrapers. An antenna of those sizes and the power to back it up have ranges of up to 20 miles, even more than that, almost 100 miles, depending on terrain. Shortwave radio doesn't really have the limitation, the wavelength of the waves are short enough to bounce along the inside of the ionosphere, which is several kilometers above the surface of the Earth. This means global communications are possible, the BBC broadcasts its shows and stuff over this wavelength all the time, and for a while, this was the ONLY way that Americans could receive the BBC.

This leads to another regulation, at least in the US, since the PUBLIC airwaves are just that, PUBLIC, they generally restrict the ownership of radio and TV stations that use such systems to American owned companies that are incorporated here. Such stations are free to carry SHOWS and such from other nations, when given permission from said station, PBS shows some BBC programming, as an example. However, all stations, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, etc. are all owned by American corporations of one sort or another.

Most of what we think of as "underground" TV or Stations are actually not, college TV and Radio stations are usually limited to the Campuses in which they reside in range, but some are licensed to extend beyond that. Community stations are also licensed, in fact, an "allotment" of FCC-regulated Bandwidth is reserved for a city to license independently of the FCC for local programming.

Truly "underground" broadcasting is usually from a mobile station, usually a van or boat is used, though just assembling and disassembling the broadcasting equipment is all that is needed. Such stations, when they exist, are usually tracked down though triangulation of the broadcasts. Most don't broadcast for more than an hour at a time. I remember hearing about such a station that was shutdown in the 1990s, I think on the west coast, in California or something, the broadcaster transmitted from a boat in the Pacific, just off the coast, they were caught and prosecuted, I think they ended up using the same band that Emergency services use, causing interference with Fire, Ambulance, and Police radios. They were changing their frequency, and hit that band, and that really upped the penalty right there.

This is just a basic summary, by the way, in no way is it exhaustive, and only relates to US broadcasts, however, most other nations have similar restrictions.

[anotherdrew]

67. seems a pointles display of authority by the CONATEL agents, not Chavez sanctioned "represion" n/t

[Judi Lynn]

73. Some of the Bush government-paid writers in Miami were on Telemundo's

staff, as mentioned in this article:

49 Journalists, Commentators, Freelancers, Opinion Makers in Miami Paid By U.S. Through Martis
From Today's Miami Herald Story by Christina Hoag:

After a thorough review of federal documents, The Miami Herald found 49 full-time journalists or contributors to local media outlets who also received payments from Radio and TV Martí from October 2001 to August 2006.

They included eight El Nuevo staffers, paid between $125 and $175,000, and 29 freelancers who contribute to El Nuevo. They received between $100 and $110,000 over a five-year period.

Thirteen other journalists at several Miami media, including Channel 41, Diario Las Americas, Univision, Telemundo, Radio Mambi and WQBA, were listed.
(snip/)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15672634.htm

Also, from the Miami Herald, from Carl Hiaasen:

Once a reporter starts cashing a government paycheck, his or her credibility as a public watchdog is shot.

http://blogs.herald.com/cuban_connection/2006/10/49_journalists_.html

[Stockholm]

79. And just who owns Telemundo?

Ahh thats right, primarily US interests through Liberty Media and Sony Pictures Entertainment!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemundo_Internacional

:puke:

[praeclarus]

82. that's right, who owns Telemundo?....

... It is a US station and, given the various attempts
by USA to get rid of Chavez, you can be sure it's editorial
stance and quite likely its programming is nothing more
than anti-duly-elected-government propaganda.

In other words, you might call it subversive or to use
one of my favorite words, an insurgent TV station.

To robcon and whoever else is waving about the free speech
argument I'll pose this hypothetical question: how long would
a Cuban-own TV-Cuba be allowed to set up shop on our shores
and broadcast here?

For that matter, just consider the climate and tone we have
had here for the last 4 years around any free speech that
was in any way anti-war.

And yes Faux should be shut down. Because they lie, fabricate
stories out of whole cloth, and "accidentally" label Republican
pedophiles as Democrats on their graphics.

Everybody agrees that free speech does not extend to yelling
"Fire" in a movie theater, for example. Faux is constantly
yelling "Fire" in a movie theater, metaphorically speaking.

[Judi Lynn]

85. Good points, which should linger in the minds of readers, since they've

been illustrated frequently, recently, as in around the last election everything you said as been done over and over.

The very idea they dared to start labeling certain notorious Republicans as "Democrats" was an appalling, brazen move Democrats could NOT accept, but we were forced to accept it, as there is literally no way whatsoever to prevent their flagrant lies from being flung out for their non-reading audience to gobble down.

I'm not aware they ever commented on their loathesome misuse of the airwaves when they were challenged on Foley, and others.

Unforgivable.

[Beacho]

92. The Airwaves belong to the people

To broadcast you need a license. It is a privilege to broadcast on public airwaves, not a right.

I assume the same situation exists in Venezuala and this organization did not have a permit to broadcast.

I don't see what the issue is here.

[recoveringrepublican]

98. Didn't they do something similar during Mexico's election?

Am I wrong?

[Judi Lynn]

99. You'll need to provide more details. On the surface they couldn't be more wildly different.

I think you're probably trying to "josh" us, but go ahead, and explain what it is you're trying to communicate.

In Venezuela, unlike Mexico, the liberal candidate was not ahead until everyone went to sleep and then suddenly the right-winger shot ahead, and won, from out of nowhere.

Hugo Chavez was polling far ahead of his opponent throughout, and all the exit polls showed him extremely ahead. He finished ahead.

This wasn't the case in Mexico.

Jump right in there and provide that information you are using to reach your conclusion "something similar" happened "during Mexico's election."

[Judi Lynn]

100. OAS Praises Venezuela Vote

OAS Praises Venezuela Vote

Caracas, Dec 4 (Prensa Latina) The Organization of American States highlighted the support provided by the Venezuela electoral authorities, political organizations and civil society during the observation mission on the presidential elections.

Juan Enrique Fischer, head of the OAS Observation Mission, also congratulated President Hugo Chavez for the triumph conferred by the preliminary counts carried out by the country s maximum electoral authority.

Similarly, he recognized the opposition candidate Manuel Rosales for his civil behavior and determination to strengthen democratic institutionalism in addition to the recognition for the dialogue willingness of both candidates.

Fischer expressed satisfaction for the notable civic example, the high and extraordinary index of participation and for the security conditions prevailing during the process.

The agreement signed by the OAS and the National Electoral Council fixing the terms of mission was absolutely fulfilled and facilitated the mission s performance, he remarked.
(snip/...)

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B2398C2D2-3E72-46AF-996C-CA4D86EBBDF5%7D)&language=EN