'Adios Libertad'
By Amanda S. Coleman
Venezuela's government recently made the controversial decision to not renew the television broadcasting license of the Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) station. RCTV was the country's oldest private channel. Its license expired on May 27, 2007.
President Hugo Chávez had been threatening to shut them down ever since he accused them of supporting a coup attempt in April 2002. On December 28, 2006, during a military ceremony, he announced that the order to not renew their license had already been drafted.
"President Hugo Chávez is misusing the state’s regulatory authority to punish a media outlet for its criticism of the government. The move to shut down RCTV is a serious blow to freedom of expression in Venezuela," said José Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director at Human Rights Watch, on the HRW website.
Globovision, one of the few 'opposition' stations left has already come under fire and finds itself under threat of going through the same fate that RCTV went through, especially since Globovision is constantly airing news regarding the threat on democracy being posed by populist leaders - an innocent innuendo to Chavez, perhaps? As an example, the main story on the homepage of Globovision's website on June 6, 2007 - the day in which this article was written - showed a photograph of US President Bush and the headline was: "President Bush says that Democracy in Venezuela is Being Attacked by Populist Leaders."
RCTV has, in turn, switched its programming over to YouTube in order to ensure that its viewing public can still access the station’s programming, especially since it has become clear - based on polls and mass demonstrations - that RCTV has a massive amount of support within the Venezuelan people. The station’s programs and shows have been uploaded onto YouTube since the station was shut down. YouTube has listed the RCTV program as one of the most subscribed feeds of the past week. "RCTV will continue to keep people informed in defense of free speech," said Vivanco.
RCTV will be replaced by a state-funded channel, and many fear it is merely another outlet for strictly pro-Chávez programming. The new channel began its transmissions with performances of national songs, government ads and a feature on one of the key liberators of South America, a man whose image is being used by the Venezuelan leader in order to win support from the masses.
Sources:
James, Ian. "Shut Down by Chavez, TV Station Turns to YouTube." Chicago Sun-Times 3 June 2007. 1 June 2007 <http://www.suntimes.com/news/world/411645,CST-NWS-chavez03.article>.
"Venezuela: TV Shutdown Harms Free Expression." Human Rights News. 1 June 2007. <http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/05/22/venezu15986.htm>.
