Read more about media in (None part 1 and 2)

Modou

Posted on Thu, Apr. 18, 2002
Venezuelan news media are accused of inciting chaos

BY FRANCES ROBLES
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CARACAS - As Venezuelans deal with the fallout of an attempted coup that
briefly ousted President Hugo Chávez, the media have come under increasing
scrutiny, as the government accuses the press of inciting rebellion and even
aiding in the overthrow. News station managers have even apologized to
viewers who complained about one-sided coverage that highlighted anti-Chávez
protesters.

The media here came under heavy criticism Saturday when the two main news
stations, Venevisión and Globovisión, carried regular programming instead of
showing footage of hundreds of thousands of pro-Chávez marchers demanding
the return of their president. Saying journalists were being physically
attacked by pro-Chávez protesters, the country's two most important dailies,
El Universal and La Nacional, did not publish their Sunday editions. ''How
is it possible that Venezuelans had to find out what was happening on their
streets through CNN en espańol and [Colombia's] Caracol Radio?'' said
Defense Minister José Vicente Rangel.

While experts agree that reporters were being targeted, the failure to cover
the nation's biggest story fed accusations that the media has gone beyond
the role of government watchdog to engage in anti-government activity. The
debate underscores Chávez's increasingly volatile relationship with the
media and the role of the press in national politics.

TOUGH TO RESOLVE

The issue has become one of the most difficult Chávez must resolve. Already
one of the largest and most forceful voices of the opposition, the press in
Chávez's view deliberately conspired to have him removed. ''That's
ridiculous,'' said Miguel Henrique Otero, publisher of El Nacional
newspaper. ``You can be part of a rebellion -- and not a coup. The whole
country was part of it; it's legal and constitutional.''

The president's war with the press goes back several years. As Chávez made
more and more moves unpopular with upper- and middle-class Venezuelans, the
press became increasingly critical of him. He fired back by sending his
supporters to protest at local media offices. A bomb even exploded outside
one newspaper building. Chávez prompted anger among journalists by proposing
a news content law, and continually irritated the broadcast media by forcing
them to air his hourslong speeches.  The dispute exploded Thursday when
Chávez -- desperate to quash coverage of the hundreds of thousands of people
marching to demand his ouster -- went on the air for another long address.
The TV media revolted by splitting the signal in half, showing Chávez on one
side and the protests on another. So he silenced the stations.

''I had to do something I didn't want to do,'' Chávez said Monday. ``I had
to knock out the signal when it was evident they were inciting violence and
they were involved in the conspiracy.'' Chávez was ousted Thursday night.
When his supporters took to the streets Saturday to rally for his return,
the media didn't cover it. Many journalists were trapped in their newsrooms
as angry mobs surrounded their offices. ''Carrying a camera, notebook, tape
recorder or riding in a car with a news logo on it made you subject to
attacks,'' said Nelson Bocaranda, a radio and television reporter.

``We were labeled enemies of the revolution. Nobody dared go outside. We can
take the blame for one thing: for not being prepared for this.'' Others say
the stations ordered them to stay home, and foreign news media who depended
on the local networks for satellite feeds found access cut off. ''The
pressmen didn't show up. Truck drivers didn't show up. Journalists were
terrified and went home,'' Otero said. ``It was impossible to work. We
couldn't publish.''

DENYING RUMORS

But the lack of coverage, however it may be rationalized, has only served to
fuel the argument that the media were complicitous in a coup. Venevisión
owner Gustavo Cisneros had to go on the air Tuesday to deny rampant rumors
that the U.S.-registered airplane ready to whisk Chávez out of the country
belonged to him. ''We have not conspired, we do not want to conspire, we are
not going to conspire, nor do we know how,'' Cisneros said. The controversy
illustrates how difficult it will be to mend fences in Venezuela, where the
most powerful institutions are at war with the head of state. Washington
analyst Miguel Diaz, said the Venezuelan media assumed an adversarial role
because of a ''political vacuum'' that occurred when Chávez took office in
1999. Important political parties had dissolved, the Supreme Court and
congress were stacked with Chávez allies, so the media provided the checks
and balances.
''It was an understandable crossover. There wasn't anybody standing up to
Chávez,'' Diaz said. ``Those lines were blurred in Venezuela. I believe the
media were somewhat irresponsible. They had good reason not to like Chávez,
but they needed to go beyond that. It was a temptation to be retaliatory.''
On a visit here to review the political fallout from the coup, César
Gaviria, the Organization of American States secretary-general, met Tuesday
with both Chávez and media owners. Opposition politicians made it clear
Wednesday that they planned to forge ahead with plans to criminally charge
the president, as other legislators called for an investigation of the news
media. ''There is very little trust,'' Gaviria said. Media owners ``have so
many concerns regarding security, that it's difficult to talk to them about
anything but that.'' Gaviria said the opposition should give Chávez a chance
to moderate his policies. Otherwise, he said, the country risks more social
unrest.
''This country has to learn from the traumatic events of last week,'' the
OAS chief said. ``Episodes such as those that occurred have enormous risks
in human lives.''

In a televised address Tuesday, Globovisión manager Alberto Ravells said he
is willing to join Chávez in a national dialogue. He admits making the
conscious decision not to broadcast pictures of the looting. ''We could have
made mistakes. Maybe the role got distorted because of what was happening,''
Ravell said. ``If we had a blackout on information, if we made a mistake, we
assume the responsibility. We ask forgiveness of viewers who believe we
failed them.''



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