Globovision, an opposition news television station, announced yesterday that it has accepted a buyout offer, to be carried out after the 14 April presidential elections.
Communications Minister Ernesto Villegas announced the launch of a new state media system on Saturday that will encompass all state and community media outlets.
The Venezuelan government launched a digital television system on Wednesday that provides free digital broadcasting to nearly sixty percent of the country but excludes the opposition channel Globovisión.
Venezuela writer and intellectual Luis Britto defended the Chavez government against accusations of clamping down on press freedoms during a session held by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Iachr) in Washington last Thursday.
Venezuela’s Ministry of Communication and Information (MinCI) held a public forum on Wednesday in the National University of the Arts (Unearte) in Caracas to discuss what changes are needed to improve the effectiveness and objectivity of state media.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has reshuffled his cabinet ahead of important regional elections in December, swearing in a new vice president and six new ministers on Saturday.
The Latin American Federation of Journalists (FELAP) officially re-accepted Venezuela as a member of its 16-country organization last weekend during the convening of its 11th Congress in the city of Caracas.
An official investigation has been launched into the shooting of a farm worker last Tuesday morning during an alleged confrontation with workers from the anti-government television station, Globovision.
After the first week of electoral campaigning for the 7 October presidential elections, the National Electoral Council (CNE) has reported some media bias in relation to the campaigns. The national assembly has condemned two acts of violence by the opposition, and President Hugo Chavez has reported that his health is no impediment to his campaign.
Opposition television channel Globovision has said it will pay a fine of US $2.2 million (9.3 million bolivars) today, eight months after it was first issued by Venezuela’s National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel).
Venezuela’s Minister of Communication and Information, Andres Izarra, has announced that the government will create a national alternative media network in a bid to bring together the country’s numerous community media sources.
The governor of Monagas state in eastern Venezuela, Jose Gregorio “the Cat” Briceño, has been suspended from the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), and faces a disciplinary procedure which could possibly lead to his expulsion from the party.
Over 53 social collectives from the Caracas neighbourhood, 23 Enero (23 January) have protested against what they describe as a corporate media attempt to generate violence in the area, after media outlets such as Ultimas Noticias and Globovision reported that there was a “war” between revolutionary groups in the working class neighbourhood.
