On Media Bias in Venezuela

[Judi Lynn]

Published on Wednesday, October 3, 2012 by The Americas Blog / CEPR

On Media Bias in Venezuela

by Mark Weisbrot

Everywhere you look, there are people who are taking seriously the claim that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has a big media advantage over the opposition in the upcoming elections. The Committee to Protect Journalists, in their latest report (PDF) on Venezuela, states that “a vast state media presence echoes the government’s positions,” and refers to the government as having a “media empire.”

From the Wilson Center’s latest report (PDF), we read: “Media coverage is not even moderately balanced. . . . In television, the government’s predominance is overwhelming; it was estimated that by 2007 it controlled seven national television channels and 35 open community channels."

These statements are false and misleading, but they are adopted uncritically in almost all mainstream media coverage. In fact, state TV had about 5.9 percent of the audience that watches television in Venezuela in 2009-2010. These data were gathered by AGB Panamericana de Venezuela Medición S.A., a local affiliate of Nielsen Media Research International, and are probably as reliable as Nielsen ratings in the United States. The data were collected through equipment boxes placed in each home, measuring minutes of each channel watched. A representative sample of 1000 households was constructed and data were gathered over ten years.

Thus, the above statements are similar to claiming that PBS TV, the public TV in the U.S., dominates broadcast TV in the United States. Most of the major newspapers (e.g., El Nacional, El Universal) are also strongly against the government. According to CONATEL data, only about 14 percent of radio is publicly owned; and since there is more strongly anti-government radio in Venezuela than TV, the opposition almost certainly has more advantage in radio than in other media.

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/10/03-16

[joshcryer]

1. "...opposition media’s dominance in Venezuela has a significant influence on political beliefs."

Laughable!

The Tascon List is known about from word of mouth and common dialog amongst Venezuelans. The media doesn't even have to spread propaganda for "57 percent of respondents were at least somewhat concerned that people could face reprisals for how they vote," with only 42 percent "very confident their votes would be kept secret."

In the 2012 primaries they tried to get the voter lists:

Acting on a ruling earlier Tuesday by Venezuela's Supreme Court, Aragua police had confiscated lists of voters who participated in Sunday's primary elections. The court had ordered that the lists be confiscated so that electoral authorities could use them to investigate alleged irregularities during Sunday's elections. Source.

Fortunately the opposition was not going to allow the Cuba-style nepotism-cronyism actually affect them this time like it did with the Tascón List. Indeed a young man was killed trying to protect the privacy of the voters (fucked up how all these deaths are happening on the oppositions side).

It said the voters lists from across the country should be handed to the electoral authorities within 24 hours.

But the executive secretary of the Democratic Unity (MUD) coalition, Ramon Aveledo, dismissed the ruling as "absurd, unconstitutional and disproportionate".

Hours later, other opposition officials said the voting records had all been destroyed.

"We gave our word to all Venezuelans who turned out to vote on 12 February that the process would be absolutely secret, both the vote and the names of the people who took part," MUD youth leader Edinson Ferrer said. Source.

Tired of the blatant propaganda without any evidence.

I mean, VTV is showing this as Capriles "crowd" (note to non-Spanish speakers; just watch what the camera man does; the massive crowd is being blocked by the reporter):

And we're supposed to think there's some sense of "balance" here?

[polly7]

2. Thanks Judi Lynn

For me, this media bias claim has been laughable since I first learned the media played a big part in the coup attempt against him. Right-wing nutcases depend on 'false and misleading' though, it's the same anywhere. And they're desperate.

[joshcryer]

3. Gustavo Cisneros only *hosted* the coupsters in his TV station...

...and remains the most powerful media mogul in all of Venezuela.

Funny how the guy behind the coup is still in power.