Chavez to shut down opposition TV station

[wyldwolf]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said he will not renew the licence for the country's second largest TV channel which he says expires in March 2007.

In an address to troops, Mr Chavez said he would not tolerate media outlets working towards a coup against him.

Radio Caracas Television, which is aligned with the opposition, supported a strike against Mr Chavez in 2003.

But the TV's head said there must be some mistake as its licence was not up for renewal in the near future.

The move could help silence some of his critics in the media who have been a thorn in his side for several years, he says.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6215815.stm

[Warren Stupidity]

1. You left this part out

"Many media outlets, including RCTV, supported a bungled coup in 2002".

How long would a tv station keep its license in this bastion of freedom of ours had it openly advocated the violent overthrow of the us government?

[wyldwolf]

2. Yeah. long article. I left out a bunch.

Including this:

The channel is among a number of private TV and radio networks that in recent years have strongly criticized Mr Chavez' government and favoured the opposition.

Many media outlets, including RCTV, supported a bungled coup in 2002 and a devastating general strike in 2003 that failed to unseat the president.

The press freedom campaign group, Reporters Without Borders, said the proposed move would be a grave violation of freedom of expression in Venezuela.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. No answer?

How long would a tv station keep its license in this bastion of freedom of ours had it openly advocated the violent overthrow of the us government?

[wyldwolf]

4. Is it worth answering?

I thought Chavez was the ultimate "for the people" lefty. Now he's advocating violation of freedom of expression? Yes he is.

And do you now compare hold him to the standards you believe this country has? Yes, again.

And since Chavez was involved in his own "bloody coup attempt," you just made him a hypocrite.

[Warren Stupidity]

8. Yes of course.

So can you answer the question? How long would a tv station hold its license here if it advocated the violent overthrow of the US government?

[wyldwolf]

10. Not long...

Should the Venezuelen government protect freedom of speech if Chavez is SOOO much more "progressive" than this country?

[Warren Stupidity]

12. Yes it should, freedom of the press is very important.

Too bad we don't have much of it at all.

As I have said elsewhere, I don't think this is a good thing. I also note that this is not a policy decision by the government, it was a remark made by Chavez, a man known for emitting a lot of hot air.

But I find the HORROR expressed by our center-right here a bit amusing. Our bastion of freedom would not allow the RCTV nonsense to have continued for one day let alone four years.

[wyldwolf]

13. fortunately Chavez is sooo much more "progressive."

[Warren Stupidity]

16. Glad you agree that we have little or no freedom of the press here.

[wyldwolf]

17. glad you agree Venezuela has even less under Chavez

[Warren Stupidity]

32. Not true: RCTV still broadcasts

despite having advocated the violent overthrow of the democratically elected government. Where is our equivalent broadcast station advocating such policies? No, in fact we have less broadcast media freedom here as the broadcast media is almost totally locked up by a small group of corporations with a common political viewpoint.

[wyldwolf]

33. Freedom House rates Venezuela lower. Sorry.

You're hero Chavez gets a "not free" rating:

http://www.freedomhouse.org//modules/publications/pfs/modDisplayCountryDetail2.cfm?country=7088&year=2006

Now tell me this is a "biased" source.

[jefferson_dem]

38. Bad and getting worse in Venezuela, according to FH.

These latest anti-free-press moves by Chavez won't help matters either.

[Mikey929]

35. We don't have freedom???

We don't have freedom of the press?? Are you kidding me? What forum are you typing on right now? We live in a country with absolutely gobs of press -- t.v., radio, magazines, and the biggest of all -- the Internet. The Internet (including DU here) is a wide-open, virtually unregulated blank slate where anyone can utter just about anything one wants to.

Talk to some Chinese students, or Iranian people, and tell them we don't have much freedom of the press here. They would laugh at you.

[ShortnFiery]

47. We have a Corporate National Media. Everything, and

I mean EVERY DAMN THING that the American M$M puts out is pro-large corporations and military industrial complex. You don't dare say anything counter to your corporate masters inside the USA.

If Bu$h had the power, he'd shut down all media outlets that are not FOX owned and run.

We are being fed lies with lots of sugar (mindless pretty bimbos) to help the PROPAGANDA GO DOWN.

Given the make-up of Chavez's opposition, this might make sense. We need more reliable information. :shrug:

[SanCristobal]

5. About as long as if they showed Janet Jacksons breast.

That doesn't mean the Venezuelan government shouldn't protect freedom of speech. If you are going to denounce their opposition media for supporting a coup, then its only fair to denounce their president for attempting one.

[Warren Stupidity]

9. Yeah sure that was wrong too. nt.

[AZBlue]

52. As long as it wanted it. We have freedom of speech here - but the MSM don't want to use it.

eom

[LittleClarkie]

39. But if that hypothetical TV station in the US was shut down, how much of a ruckus

would that cause amongst progressives? Would they say it was a violation of free speech?

I'm afraid if Prez Chavez is going to have a democracy, he's going to have to deal with these "many media outlets" including RCTV. I will hold him to the same standard we hold Bush to.

[Buzz Clik]

40. Oh, well, that justifies controlling the media.

Chavez is a heavy-handed thug. I know that lots of DUers just love him to pieces, but we should be real careful about getting close the shitbags like him.

[Warren Stupidity]

42. RCTV has not been shut down.

Chavez made a remark, not a proclamation, not a law, not even a signing statement abolishing international treaties on the treatment of prisoners. RCTV's license isn't even up for renewal anytime soon, as per the cited article.

If and when RCTV is shut down you might have a point.

[Solon]

6. This is a dupe, twice over.

Give it a rest already, and by the way, you have no legs to stand on.

[wyldwolf]

7. Now it's a dupe thrice over

I have two suggestions for you

1. Alert the mods that this is a dupe.
2. Try not to personify quoted media article. But if you do feel compelled, just click that handy ignore button.

[Solon]

11. I never hit the alert button...

never have, and I been here a LONG time, I especially like it when others personally attack me, I get annoyed when their stupidity is deleted. Oddly enough, most of those folks are no longer here, they had a pizza delivered to them.

[A Simple Game]

14. If Liberals in this country could shut down opposition

TV and radio stations, we wouldn't have much to listen to, would we?

[Warren Stupidity]

43. We don't. have much to listen to. nt.

[A Simple Game]

45. True, if you don't count the lies, we have very little.

I wouldn't mind listening to bad news, even derogatory news, if it were the truth and not just lies and right wing propaganda.

[Warren Stupidity]

49. So the point is that here we sit with out controlled media

pompously condemning Chavez for what appears to be an off the cuff remark he made threatening to shut down a station that supported the aborted cia backed coup against his democratically elected government. Hypocrisy anyone?

Chavez He has not shut anything down. We do not have a remotely free broadcast media. As things stand right now there is more freedom of expression in Venezuela broadcast media than there is here.

[k_jerome]

15. this guy is a run of the mill South American thug "president". nt.

[sniffa]

18. i just noticed a coreLation

chavez = thug
hiLLary = next prez

not just you btw.

interesting.

[k_jerome]

19. you don't have an avatar. don't talk to me. nt.

[sniffa]

22. that's funny

someone eLse said that in another thread.

:rofl:

you have a hiLLary avatar, don't taLk to me!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[k_jerome]

24. allow me not to donate for you. nt.

[sniffa]

26. thanks

aLLow to me to cry tiny, tiny tears for you. :cry: :cry: :cry:

[k_jerome]

29. i thank you. nt.

[Buzz Clik]

46. Here's an outlier in your correlation analysis: I think Chavez is a thug, but ...

I don't think Hillary has a chance in hell.

[wyldwolf]

20. never knew how much so until I read a little about him

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch list human rights violations and a tightening of freedom of the press under Chavez rule.

[k_jerome]

21. he will die in a coup...

his similarities to his predecessors outweigh his differences. i will give him credit for being slightly more intelligent than our own thug in office.

[wyldwolf]

23. well, the bar isn't set very high in that respect

The Mayor of Lidsville is more intelligent than Bush.

[k_jerome]

25. yes. you do realize we are in the extreme minority here...

keep your vest on.

[sniffa]

27. indeed you are

as noted by the coreLation above.

[k_jerome]

30. huh? nt.

[wyldwolf]

28. of course.

[rockymountaindem]

36. Well, finally something you and I agree on

I don't like Chavez either.

[k_jerome]

44. that does it. i like him now. nt.

[jefferson_dem]

31. No doubt about it. "Freedom of the Press" is hurting under Chavez.

See this, results on a totally objective uniform measure of press freedom, conducted by the most reputable source there is -- Freedom House.


A hostile political atmosphere under the government of President Hugo Chavez has continued to affect the largely pro-opposition private media. One result has been a steady decline in press freedom over the past several years-a trend that continued in 2005-reflected in the government's enactment of legislation prohibiting the broadcast of certain material, its intimidation toward and denial of access to private media, and the continued harassment of journalists, directed primarily at those employed by private media outlets.

The legal environment for the press deteriorated in 2005 owing to two new restrictive laws that have increased the severity of punishments for desacato (disrespect) and expanded the "social responsibility" constraints for radio and television. The Law of Social Responsibility in Radio and Television, signed into law in December 2004, contains vaguely worded restrictions that could be applied to severely restrict freedom of expression. For example, the law forbids graphic depictions of violence between 5 am and 11 pm on both television and radio. Another worrying development occurred on March 16, when the so-called overhaul of the penal code took effect. The revised code makes insulting the president punishable by 6 to 30 months in prison and makes comments that could "expose another person to contempt or public hatred" subject to one to three years in prison on top of a severe fine. In July, the Office of the Attorney General invoked the new desacato provisions to investigate the Caracas?based daily El Universal for an article that allegedly criticized his office and the judiciary.

Government cadenas (announcements) require that broadcasters cease regular programming to transmit official messages; 171 such cadenas were issued in 2005, several during the December National Assembly elections. Journalists complained that a lack of access impeded their reporting, including denial of entry to the presidential palace and other official events. In 2005, journalists were barred from reporting on the military, hospitals and stadiums, and the judiciary. On November 1, David Ludovic, writer of the El Nacional newspaper column "A Las Puertas de Palacio" ("At the Palace's Door"), was pressured by the president's security personnel into handing over a tape of interviews done adjacent to the Palacio Blanco, a building in front of the Miraflores presidential palace in downtown Caracas.

Direct assaults against media declined compared with 2004, but journalists still decried authorities' efforts to prevent free reporting, including the forced closure of media outlets. On October 24, officials of the national customs and taxation office (SENIAT) temporarily shut down the operations of the daily El Impulso in the city of Barquisimeto, evicting the administrative and editorial staff. SENIAT also imposed a US$13,900 fine on El Impulso, reportedly in connection with "flaws in the paper's 2002 tax return." Several press freedom advocacy groups protested after a police raid on the home of Venezuelan journalist Patricia Poleo. Poleo's house was raided on January 28 in a search for information that could reveal the identity of her news sources for a story on alleged corruption involving public prosecutor Danilo Anderson, who was murdered in an explosion in November 2004.

The government controls two national television stations, a national radio network, and a wire service. The president has a weekly radio show and exercises his power to preempt programming to ensure extensive broadcasting of government announcements in private media. In July, the government launched Telesur, an international television network, in an attempt to "promote Latin American stories." But when Chavez appointed his minister of communications and information, Andres Izarra, as the network's president, the TV network was perceived as another tool for government propaganda. Izarra later resigned from the ministry to work full-time for the network. There are no government restrictions on the internet, which had 3 million users (12 percent of the population) by March 2005.

http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=251&year=2006

[question everything]

34. But, but... Chavez is the hero of DUers, the example of a democrat

and freedom loving individual

Are there any blogs like DU, in Venezuela?

[jefferson_dem]

37. Color me baffled...

by all this slobbery Chavez-LUV. :shrug:

[Buzz Clik]

41. shhhhhh! You're going to invoke the wrath of the Chavez Faithful Army.

Want to have some fun? Ask the real frothing-at-the-mouth set to justify Cindy Sheehan hugging the sonofabitch in a photo op.

Oops. I guess I just did. My bad.

[ShortnFiery]

48. I see "The Hype Factor" is prolific on both sides of this argument

:thumbsdown:

FYI DU is a HUGE message board. We have many people of diverse opinions but NO, I say again NO ARMIES of any stripe here. :eyes:

[NoPasaran]

50. Maybe not an army

But at least a Hugo Chavez Brigade.

[Buzz Clik]

51. No kidding -- at the very least.

[On the Road]

53. The Title Muddies the Difference

between sending troops out to shut down the operation and failing to renew a license. The reasons for not renewing the license are not trivial. And Chavez has not pursued this method with other opposition stations. There's not enough here for me to condemn.

[The Magistrate]

54. Indeed, Sir: The Lisence Is Not A Right

People who work for a coup against a government cannot expect there to be no consequences when their effort fails....

"If you strike a King, you must kill him."