Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

newspapers A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

magazines A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wi ...

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

social networking A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for ...

RCTV Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) was a Venezuelan free-to-air television network headquartered in the Caracas neighborhood of Quinta Crespo. It was sometimes referred to as the Canal de Bárcenas. Owned by Empresas 1BC, Radio Caracas Televisi� ...

Televen Televen is a private Venezuelan national television network headquartered on the Caracas neighborhood of Horizonte. For this reason it is also called 'Canal de Horizonte'. Televen was inaugurated as the ''TELEVEN Corporation'' (''Corporación TE ...

Venevisión Venevisión () is a Venezuelan free-to-air television channel and one of Venezuela's largest television networks, owned by the Cisneros Media division of Grupo Cisneros. History The company's roots date back to June 1, 1953, with the establis ...

TVes TVES is a Venezuelan public television channel. Its name is short for Televisora Venezolana Social (''Venezuelan Social Television'') and is pronounced ("te ves"), meaning ''you see yourself''. It replaced the signal of Radio Caracas Televisión ...

Televisora Comunitaria del Oeste de Caracas Catia TVe (Televisora Comunitaria del Oeste) is a Venezuelan television channel, created and administered by the residents of Catia, a major neighborhood in the capital city of Caracas. Seventy percent of its programming is created by community o ...

Avila TV Ávila TV is a public regional television channel based in the city of Caracas. It can be seen in the metropolitan area of Caracas on UHF channel 47 or Inter channel 89, and in the rest of the country on Digital TV channel 25.3 or CANTV TV Satelita ...

Buena TV Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603,Asamblea Nacional TV (ANTV), ''

Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias Agencia Venezolana de Noticias (AVN) is the national news agency of Venezuela. It is part of the Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information (MINCI), but is run as an autonomous service. It reports on national and regional issues, ...

'' and funds the majority of Latin American network TeleSUR. The major Venezuelan newspapers are '' El Nacional,

Últimas Noticias ''Últimas Noticias'' is a daily newspaper in Venezuela, currently British-owned and characterized by ''The Guardian'' as a "pro-Maduro tabloid". ''Últimas Noticias'' was founded in Caracas on 16 September 1941 after the pro-freedom measures im ...

'', and '' El Universal''; all of which are private companies and based in Caracas. There are also many regional newspapers.

History

Democratic period

Venezuela was the ninth country in the world to have television, introduced in 1952 by

Marcos Pérez Jiménez Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez (25 April 1914 – 20 September 2001) was a Venezuelan military and general officer of the Army of Venezuela and the dictator of Venezuela from 1950 to 1958, ruling as member of the military junta from 1 ...

. By 1963 a quarter of Venezuelan households had television; a figure rising to 45% by 1969 and 85% by 1982.Swanson, David and Mancini, Paolo (1996), ''Politics, media, and modern democracy: an international study of innovations in electoral campaigning and their consequences'', Greenwood Publishing, p240 By 1970s, Venezuela surpassed Argentina as the most urbanized of South America nations. The benefits that urbanization has brought in terms of ease of communication were offset by social problems.

Bolivarian Revolution

The Venezuelan media initially supported

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

after his election in 1998, supporting the changes he proposed for Venezuela. However, when the media began to report "negative realities" occurring in Venezuela, the Chávez government began to view the independent media as an enemy. After Chávez established his position of power in Venezuela by removing political barriers, the independent media began to criticize Chávez in a similar manner to the way other Latin American countries would have their media criticize their own governments. The independent Venezuelan press then became opposed to Chávez, fearing that he would ruin the economy and Venezuela's democracy.Dinges, John. ''

Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, ana ...

'' (July 2005). "Soul Search", Vol. 44 Issue 2, July–August 2005, pp52-8 The Chávez government responded by making laws that would threaten the revocation or fining of media organizations,David Adams and Phil Gunson, '' St. Petersburg Times'', 18 April 2002
Media accused in failed coup
while Chávez and his officials would also combat the media by calling out reporters by name, which angered members of the media, sparking dubious reports and articles. Fears arose among the media when Chávez would call out journalists by name, with such polarization becoming so intense that eventually journalists "were regularly attacked in the street by Chavez supporters". In June 2001, the Chávez-filled Supreme Court ruled that the media could face consequences for "half-truths" and shortly after in January 2002, the headquarters of ''El Universal'' was assaulted by hundreds of Chavistas, Globovision reporters were attacked while attempting to record Aló Presidente and there was a bomb attack on newspaper ''Así Es la Noticia''. Months later following the

2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt A failed coup d'état on 11 April 2002 saw the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, ousted from office for 47 hours before being restored to power. Chávez was aided in his return to power by popular support and mobilization against the coup ...

in April 2002, Chávez used a "two-pronged strategy" in which his government strengthened its own media and "closed, browbeaten or infiltrated almost every independent outlet." In 2004, the Law on Social Responsibility in Radio and Television was passed, and in 2010 it was extended to the Internet and social media in 2010, requires media companies to "establish mechanisms to restrict, without delay, the dissemination of messages." By the time of Chávez's death in 2013, he left a transformed media atmosphere in Venezuela with the media organizations that opposed him being silenced and an expanding state media as a result. Media workers face legal barriers,

defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

lawsuits from Venezuelan officials or are targets of violence. Both Chávez and his successor,

Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019. Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade union ...

, would pressure media organizations until they failed by preventing them from acquiring necessary resources. The Venezuelan government would manipulate foreign exchange rates for media organizations so that they could no longer import their resources or fine them heavily. The government would then use a

front company A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy ...

to give the troubled organization a "generous" offer to purchase the company. Following the buyout, the front company would promise that the staff would not change but would slowly release them and change their coverage to be in favor of the Venezuelan government.

Television

Television in Venezuela began in 1952 when the dictator

Marcos Pérez Jiménez Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez (25 April 1914 – 20 September 2001) was a Venezuelan military and general officer of the Army of Venezuela and the dictator of Venezuela from 1950 to 1958, ruling as member of the military junta from 1 ...

launched the state channel

Televisora Nacional Televisora Nacional was the first television station (state-owned) to begin operations in Venezuela. It broadcast from 1953 to 1992 making Venezuela the ninth country in the world to have television. History On 22 November 1952, the first televis ...

, making

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

the ninth country in the world to have television. By 1963 a quarter of Venezuelan households had television; a figure rising to 45% by 1969 and 85% by 1982. Even though the best known television show internationally is President

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

' weekly talkshow '' Aló Presidente'', there are plenty of well known telenovelas. The main private television networks are

RCTV Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) was a Venezuelan free-to-air television network headquartered in the Caracas neighborhood of Quinta Crespo. It was sometimes referred to as the Canal de Bárcenas. Owned by Empresas 1BC, Radio Caracas Televisi� ...

(launched 1953, losing its terrestrial broadcast license 2007);

Venevisión Venevisión () is a Venezuelan free-to-air television channel and one of Venezuela's largest television networks, owned by the Cisneros Media division of Grupo Cisneros. History The company's roots date back to June 1, 1953, with the establis ...

(1961);

Televen Televen is a private Venezuelan national television network headquartered on the Caracas neighborhood of Horizonte. For this reason it is also called 'Canal de Horizonte'. Televen was inaugurated as the ''TELEVEN Corporation'' (''Corporación TE ...

(1988); Globovisión (1994). State television includes Venezolana de Televisión (1964 as a private channel, nationalized in 1974),

TVes TVES is a Venezuelan public television channel. Its name is short for Televisora Venezolana Social (''Venezuelan Social Television'') and is pronounced ("te ves"), meaning ''you see yourself''. It replaced the signal of Radio Caracas Televisión ...

(2007), ViVe (cultural network, 2003) and teleSUR (Caracas-based pan-

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

n channel sponsored by seven Latin American states, 2005). There are also local community-run television stations such as

Televisora Comunitaria del Oeste de Caracas Catia TVe (Televisora Comunitaria del Oeste) is a Venezuelan television channel, created and administered by the residents of Catia, a major neighborhood in the capital city of Caracas. Seventy percent of its programming is created by community o ...

(CatiaTVe, 2001) and a range of regional networks such as Zuliana de Televisión. The Venezuelan government also provides funding to

Avila TV Ávila TV is a public regional television channel based in the city of Caracas. It can be seen in the metropolitan area of Caracas on UHF channel 47 or Inter channel 89, and in the rest of the country on Digital TV channel 25.3 or CANTV TV Satelita ...

(2006),

Buena TV Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603,Asamblea Nacional TV (ANTV, network of the

National Assembly of Venezuela The National Assembly ( es, Asamblea Nacional) is the legislature for Venezuela that was first elected in 2000. It is a unicameral body made up of a variable number of members, who were elected by a "universal, direct, personal, and secret" vo ...

, 2005). In 1998, independent television represented 88% of the 24 national television channels while the other 12% of channels were controlled by the Venezuelan government. By 2014, there were 105 national television channels with only 48 channels, or 46%, representing independent media while the Venezuelan government and the "communitarian channels" it funded accounted for 54% of channels, or the 57 remaining channels.

Internet

Journalism

In an article by ''

El Tiempo (Anzoátegui) ''El Tiempo'' is a Venezuelan regional newspaper, headquartered in Puerto la Cruz, in the state of Anzoátegui. The newspaper was launched in 1951 as ''Voz Caribe'', a weekly newspaper. It was relaunched as a daily, under the new name ''El Ti ...

'', journalists explain reasons of why they have moved from traditional media outlets such as newspapers and organizations to websites. Journalists explained how after allegations of censorship after the sale of Cadena Capriles organization and ''El Universal'', journalists have found refuge on the Internet. Some journalists have even created their own websites, though with some difficulties. This includes a Venezuelan imitation of '' Naked News'' called ''Desnudando La Noticia'' (Stripping The News).

Social media

The use of social media has grown to be important in Venezuela because of government censorship preventing press freedom in other forms of media. Some Venezuelans rely on social networking to purchase goods, such as medications that are vital for survival. Social media has also allowed Venezuelans to protest, though the Bolivarian government has targeted critics. A September 2018 poll by Meganalisis found that 57.7% of respondents relied on social media as their news source.

Newspapers

Large newspaper organizations include

El Universal (Caracas) ''El Universal'' is a major Venezuelan newspaper, headquartered in Caracas.Browning, Mark (2003),Venezuela, ''World Press Encyclopedia'' ''El Universal'' is part of the Latin American Newspaper Association (Spanish, ''Periodicals Associates ...

and

El Nacional (Caracas) ''El Nacional'' is a Venezuelan publishing company under the name C.A. Editorial El Nacional, most widely known for its ''El Nacional'' newspaper and website. It, along with ''Últimas Noticias'' and '' El Universal,'' are the most widely read an ...

. In 2014, newspapers throughout the country have reported shortages of paper and have depleted their reserves; resulting in cuts of services for customers. Despite this, the Venezuelan government has announced the creation of two new state newspapers in September 2014. In October 2014, the Vice President of The Commission of Propaganda, Agitation and Communication of the PSUV, Ernesto Villegas also announced the Venezuelan government's acquisition of ''

Diario Vea ''Diario VEA'' is a daily newspaper in Venezuela. It was founded in Caracas in 2003. It is owned by the government. Its slogan is ''Comprometidos con Venezuela'' ("Committed to Venezuela"). Its director is Guillermo García Ponce. It comes in a t ...

.'' In 2013, 90 newspapers were in circulation in Venezuela. Following the election of President

Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019. Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade union ...

, 55 newspapers in Venezuela stopped circulation due to difficulties and government censorship between 2013 and 2018. By 2019, the number of newspapers circulating in Venezuela dropped to 28.

Cinema

Media freedom

According to

Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wi ...

in their ''Freedom of the Press 2014'' report, the media in Venezuela is classified as "not free". Venezuela's press freedom was also ranked low, with a ranking of 171 out of 197 countries. Freedom House explained that Venezuela's

freedom of press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...

had declined during Hugo Chávez's "15 years in power", stating that the Venezuelan government's relation to the media "led to sharp declines in press freedom and a vastly expanded government information apparatus". After the Venezuelan National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) implemented the ''Resorte Law'' claiming that "democratic security" was in danger and imposed heavy fines on private media, the media responded by "softening their coverage of national and international news". This law also requires all media outlets to air live government broadcasts (cadenas) "which the government issues frequently, at random, and without regard for regular programming." Hugo Chávez presidency resulted being a continuous war against news outlets. He blamed many of them for supporting an attempted coup against him in 2002. He made changes in the broadcast side through regulations and new ownership. Maduro continued his predecessor steps by making drastic changes in the print outlets. Journalists complain and express their frustration, as they are no longer able to report freely to the news outlet. In addition, many have turned and are making use of new platforms such as internet websites and applications. In the ''Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 2013'', the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 Apri ...

'

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des Droits de l'Homme'' ...

stated that "the ''Penal Code of Venezuela'', the ''Organic Code of Military Justice'', and the ''Law on Social Responsibility in Radio, Television and Electronic Media (Resorte Law)'' all have sections that are not compatible with Inter-American standards on

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

". They also reported that the media had been attacked by government authorities. There are reports of authorities destroying work and equipment belonging to the media, arrests and interrogations of media correspondents, reporters being held in prison being "civil rebellion" after expressing an opinion, journalists being accused of being spies and multiple reports of arrests of journalists after reporting on alleged election irregularities. Media workers have also been physically and verbally assaulted by government authorities, had received death threats against them and their families and had been intimidated by both government supporters and authorities following the death of Hugo Chávez. Cartoonists, journalists, writers and artists were sent death threats through "phone calls, text messages to their mobile telephones, and through social network Twitter". During a radio interview, Nicolás Maduro blamed

Televen Televen is a private Venezuelan national television network headquartered on the Caracas neighborhood of Horizonte. For this reason it is also called 'Canal de Horizonte'. Televen was inaugurated as the ''TELEVEN Corporation'' (''Corporación TE ...

for violence occurring in the country after the election and accused Globovision of being "fascist". The Venezuelan government has also been accused of not allowing public media outlets to attend official events and places such as the National Assembly, where only government-run media outlets are allowed to participate. In the ''World Report 2014'' by

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...

, the Venezuelan government "has expanded and abused its powers to regulate media". The report says that "sharp criticism of the government is still common in several newspapers and some radio stations, fear of government reprisals has made self-censorship a serious problem". The report also criticized the amended telecommunications law where the government could take away concessions to private media outlets if it is "convenient for the interests of the nation". In a 2015 report by the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS), over 25 media organizations had changed in ownership between 2010 and 2015 with the new owners having "a direct relationship" to local governments and the national government that was linked to Chavismo.

Attacks on media

In the ''Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 2013'', the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 Apri ...

'

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR or, in the three other official languages Spanish, French, and Portuguese CIDH, ''Comisión Interamericana de los Derechos Humanos'', ''Commission Interaméricaine des Droits de l'Homme'' ...

said that it had received information about "persistent use of stigmatizing declarations by public officials to discredit journalists, communicators, and members of the opposition who express ideas, opinions or disseminate information contrary to the interests of the Venezuelan Government". President Maduro has frequently accused the media of "psychological war", "media terrorism", being "ultra-rightwing" and "ignorant, perverse and manipulators". President Maduro had also called the newspaper ''El Nacional'', "El

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

–onal" and said that " ying El Nacional is like buying muriatic acid and breakfasting on muriatic acid every day. That’s right, it’s poison! I don’t buy it, I don’t recommend that anyone buy it either, really; not even the people of the opposition because if they do they will make a bad impression." The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stressed how important it was for "creating a climate of respect and tolerance for all ideas and opinions" in Venezuela.

During treatment of Hugo Chávez's cancer

Employees of ''Globovision'' filed complaints to the Public Prosecutor about "supposed threats by representatives of the

Executive Branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ...

against the media" and that " atements by senior officials constitute an official discourse that incites physical and verbal attacks on the employees of Globovisión, and guarantees impunity for the aggressors". Nicolas Maduro used harsh accusations on media organizations who were reporting on the health of Hugo Chávez calling them "ultra-rightwing", saying that they "have an absolutely wretched soul, absolutely wretched, and answer to anti-patriotic plans" and that they are "a very venomous minority of that ultra-right that never stops in its attack against President Chávez". President Maduro also accused the newspapers ''El Universal'' and ''El Nacional'' of "media terrorism" and a "psychological war".

Diosdado Cabello Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born 15 April 1963Vicepresidencia de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela also drug lord of Venezuela , atentamente alcardonDiosdado Cabello Rondón, accessed 19 April 2010) is a Venezuelan politician and current mem ...

, The President of the National Assembly, said that the private media are "the enemies of the homeland, of the people, of the Revolution, of the Constitution" and that "encouraging activities of this type because it might backfire ��and in the face of these media who are going with the ruin of the peace in this country, with the destruction of the peace of this country, I’m going to tell them: the day that something happens here, the people know what they are going to grab on to – and I’m almost certain that the rightwing media are not going to go without visits from the people. And this is not threats, I am just trying to interpret the reality of a people that is tired, that is sick and tired of being subjected and harassed, every day, to a thousand pressures by the rightwing media with their lies".

After the 2013 presidential elections

President Maduro said that the time had come for media organizations to show "who they are with ��with the homeland, with peace, with the people, or are they going to be on the side of fascism once again". President Maduro also made several verbal attacks at the time against the media saying they "are sadists of journalism and communication" and that "they celebrate iththe feast of death".

2013 Uribana jail riot

After the government had already announced the plans of searching a jail in Uribana, Minister of Popular Power for Penitentiary Services, Iris Varela, blamed ''Globovisión'' and ''El Impulso'' for attacks on authorities. She said, " were surprised at the announcement of the search by the privately held Globovisión network, the social networks and the webpage of newspaper El Impulso, which undoubtedly constituted a detonator for the violence, as shown by the beginning of a mutiny within the Penitentiary Center hours later, during which the gang leaders attacked members of the National Guard, resulting in an unfortunate number of casualties".

Releasing private information

In 2014, ''

Diario Las Americas Diario (Italian, Spanish "Diary") and ''El Diario'' (Spanish, "The Daily") may refer to: Newspapers, periodicals and websites * ''El Diario'' (Argentina) * ''Diario'' (Aruba) * ''El Diario'' (La Paz), Bolivia * ''Diario Extra'' (Costa Rica) *'' D ...

'' reported that the Venezuelan news websit
Noticias24
had sent messages to current and formal members of the Venezuelan intelligence agency SEBIN, releasing "personal records of citizens who frequent the forums portal journalistic institution with critical views about government performance Nicolas Maduro". The director of ''Noticias24'', Frank Prada, sent screenshots of the critical comments to SEBIN and to former director and now Minister of Interior and Justice,

Miguel Rodríguez Torres Miguel Eduardo Rodríguez Torres (born 21 January 1964) was the Minister of the Popular Power for Interior, Justice and Peace of Venezuela from 2013, until he was replaced by Carmen Meléndez on 24 October 2014. Early life Torres was born in 1 ...

. It was alleged by ''Diario Las Americas'' that since the Venezuelan government knew the users

IP address An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...

, they would be able to block future critical comments in the future with the "state-owned CANTV" and know the location of the user.

Censorship

The Venezuelan internet freedom declined in 2017. The country is moving towards the increase of internet censorship and the increase of online surveillance. Social media is the route protesters are taking in order to raise their concerns. This has led to the implementation of content filtering and online surveillance by the government of the country. The government justifies that the internet is used to promote

hate speech Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...

.

Alternate media

According to media protection organizations, Venezuelans "have been forced to find alternatives as newspapers and broadcasters struggle with state efforts to control coverage", with a growing trend of Venezuelans using online news media to bypass government censors. websites such as Informe21,

El Diario de Caracas ''El Diario de Caracas'', was one of the best known newspapers of Venezuela. The paper was founded in 1979 by a group of investors who had the concern to launch a tabloid newspaper with a critical orientation both socio-culturally and politicall ...

,

La Patilla ''La Patilla'' (English: ''The Watermelon'') is a Venezuelan news website that was founded by Alberto Federico Ravell, co-founder and former CEO of Globovisión, in 2010. The website is based in Venezuela and is one of the most visited websites ...

Agencia Carabobeña de Noticias and

Efecto Cocuyo Efecto Cocuyo ( en, Firefly Effect) is a Venezuelan journalism outlet devoted to independent media. The website was co-founded in January 2015 by Laura Weffer, former director of Venezuelan newspaper '' Diario 2001'', Luz Mely Reyes, and Josef ...

have emerged to counter the censorship. Journalists and press-freedom advocates state that news websites like La Patilla "have helped fill a gap" since individuals linked to the Venezuelan government had purchased media organizations in Venezuela, such as ''El Universal'', Globovisión and '' Ultimas Noticias''. In an article by ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' discussing the rising popularity of news websites in Venezuela, La Patilla CEO Alberto Federico Ravell stated that "The editorial line of La Patilla is to call it like it is ... We don't need paper. We don't need a broadcasting license. There's little they can do to squeeze us." The search for an alternate way of expressing their views is not lost on the new generation. According to an article published by ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

'', a group of young Venezuelan activists took it upon themselves to ride bus lines that pass through the poorest neighborhoods of

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in th ...

and do their own kind of "

news broadcasting News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or tele ...

". Claudia Lizardo, a 29-year-old creative director, formed a small team composed by four friends and began broadcasting under the name of "Bus TV" with nothing more than a cardboard frame and their voices. The group claims that the goal to be producing fact-based news media rather to seek confrontation with anybody. Laura Castillo, one member of the team, stated that "We want this to survive, that’s why we have a respectful approach that doesn’t look for confrontation with anybody."

References

External links

Andrew Kennis, ''Media Accuracy on Latin America'', 15 July 2008What is the Venezuelan news media actually like?

"Ley Resorte"
(2005 media law) * "Venezuela's Ongoing Media War". ''Venezuela , Al Jazeera'', Al Jazeera, 14 May 2017, www.aljazeera.com/programmes/listeningpost/2017/05/venezuela-ongoing-media-war-170513114624033.html. * Gonzales, Richard. "Venezuela Constituent Assembly Cracks Down on Media". ''NPR'', NPR, 9 Nov. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/08/562954354/venezuela-constituent-assembly-cracks-down-on-media. * McCarthy, K. (n.d.). Venezuela increases internet censorship and surveillance in crisis. Retrieved 4 April 2018, from https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/25/venezuela_increases_censorship_surveillance/ * Fossett, Katelyn. "How the Venezuelan Government Made the Media into Its Most Powerful Ally". ''Foreign Policy'', Foreign Policy, 11 Mar. 2014, foreignpolicy.com/2014/03/11/how-the-venezuelan-government-made-the-media-into-its-most-powerful-ally/. {{DEFAULTSORT:Media of Venezuela

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Overview

History

Democratic period

Bolivarian Revolution

Television

Internet

Journalism

Social media

Newspapers

Cinema

Media freedom

Attacks on media

During treatment of Hugo Chávez's cancer

After the 2013 presidential elections

2013 Uribana jail riot

Releasing private information

Censorship

Alternate media

See also

References

Further reading

External links