Media representation of Hugo Chávez

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The media representation of Hugo Chávez involves the portrayal of the current President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, in both the Venezuelan and international media.

Contents 1 In Venezuela 1.1 Private media 1.1.1 Overview 1.1.2 Coverage of the 2002 coup 1.2 State-owned media 1.2.1 Aló Presidente 1.2.2 TeleSUR 2 International media 3 See also 4 Notes

[edit] In Venezuela

[edit] Private media

[edit] Overview

Even before the April 2002 coup, owners, managers, commentators, and other personnel affiliated with the five private mainstream television networks and most major mainstream newspapers have stated their opposition to the Chávez administration. These media accuse the Chávez administration of having intimidating their journalists using specially dispatched gangs. Chávez has in turn alleged that the owners of these networks have primary allegiance not to Venezuela but to U.S. interests and to the advancement of neoliberalism via propaganda. Private media’s most prominent political commentators have reported that, among other things, Chávez is mentally ill and that he harbors a “sexual obsession with Castro”. Chávez, in turn, has described the four largest private television networks as "the four whores of the Apocalypse", has stated that the late Catholic Archbishop of Caracas, Cardinal Velasco is "in hell", and that his opponents resemble a "truckful of squealing pigs".

[edit] Coverage of the 2002 coup

Private media coverage of the 2002 coup only exacerbated these tensions. During the April 11th opposition demonstrations leading up to the coup, Chávez took over the airwaves shortly before gunfire broke out. The private TV stations defied the president by showing his address and the protest simultaneously, via a split-screen presentation. Chávez then ordered them to be taken off the air in a forced blackout which lasted until several stations started rerouting cable TV signals in order to continue covering the protest. On the first morning after the 2002 coup, many of the new Carmona government’s highest-ranking members appeared on-air to offer their appreciation to the private media for their support. Once the counter-coup was launched by Chavistas and loyalist elements of the Palace Guard, these five stations censored any reporting on the events. Private media owners and managers instead chose to broadcast classic films and sitcom reruns.

[edit] State-owned media

[edit] Aló Presidente

Chávez currently hosts the live talk show Aló Presidente. Of variable format, the show broadcasts each Sunday on state-owned television. The show features Chávez addressing topics of the day, taking phone calls from the audience, and touring locations where government social welfare programs are active.

[edit] TeleSUR

In 2005, Chávez announced the creation of TeleSUR, a proposed pan-American homologue of Al Jazeera that seeks to challenge the present domination of Latin American television news by U.S.-based CNN en Español and Univisión. With this addition, the Venezuelan government now possesses four state-owned television stations: Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), Asamblea Nacional TV (ANTV), ViVe, and TeleSUR. In retaliation, the United States Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-FL) made an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2006 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2601) to authorize the Broadcasting Board of Governors 30 minutes a day of American broadcasts to Venezuela, in addition to Voice of America broadcasts. The amendment was approved by the United States House of Representatives, and the bill presently awaits the review of the U.S. Senate upon return from recess.

[edit] International media

After the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11 2001, and with preparations for war in the U.S., Latin America could not compete for international media coverage. Moises Naim, a former Venezuelan Minister of Trade and Industry and editor of Foreign Policy magazine, argued in early 2003 that the world could no longer afford to ignore Venezuela's deterioration. He stated that Washington had mattered little in the Venezuelan crisis, and that "Fidel Castro's Cuba ... (had) been far more influential in Caracas than George W. Bush's mighty US", with sustained and effective attention towards its goal of keeping Chávez in power.^[1]

[edit] See also

Topics related to Hugo Chávez
Biography	Early life | Military career | Presidency
Political events	Coup attempt of 1992 | Coup attempt of 2002 | Recall referendum of 2004 | Putative coup attempt of 2004
Elections	Presidential election of 1998 | Presidential election of 2000 | Presidential election of 2006
Governance	Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas | Bolivarian Circles | Bolivarianism | Bolivarian Revolution | Cabinet | Constitution | Foreign policy
Bolivarian Missions	Barrio Adentro | Guaicaipuro | Hábitat | Identidad | Mercal | Miranda | Piar | Plan Bolivar 2000 | Ribas | Robinson | Sucre | Vuelta al Campo | Vuelvan Caras | Zamora
Reactions	Criticism | Media representation | The Revolution Will Not Be Televised | Súmate

[edit] Notes