Attacks on the Press in 2010 - Committee to Protect Journalists

Americas: Country Summariesbroadcast licenses. Relying on politicized courts, the government barredtwo major newspapers from publishing images of crime and violence in therun-up to September legislative elections. And through a series of politicallymotivated regulatory actions, the administration intimidated one criticalbroadcaster, Globovisión, and banished another, RCTV International.The National Telecommunications Commission, ruling that RCTVInternational had violated a requirement to air presidential addresses,ordered cable and satellite operators in January to stop carrying the station.Under the Law on Social Responsibility on Radio and Television, whichhas been widely criticized for its broad restrictions on free expression, allnational broadcasters must carry government programming when ordered,including live broadcasts of Chávez’s addresses, known as cadenas. RCTVInternational had argued that it was not a national station as defined underthe law and was thus exempt from the requirement. The network remainedoff cable and satellite subscription services in late year.TOP DEVELOPMEN TS» Censorship spikes: RCTV banishedagain, newspapers barred fromusing crime images.» New laws restrict Internet content,tighten control over broadcastlicenses.KEY STATISTIC1,300Hours of presidentialspeeches that were airedbetween 1999 and 2010.RCTV International began operating as a paid subscription channel afterthe government pulled the original station, known simply as RCTV, from thepublic airwaves in mid-2007. The country’s oldest broadcaster, RCTV wasalso one of Chávez’s harshest critics. In the RCTV cases and numerous others,CPJ found a regulatory process in which decisions were predeterminedand politically motivated. In 2009, regulators removed dozens of critical radiostations from the public airwaves, according to CPJ research. The threatof losing broadcast licenses has made other television and radio stations pullback on critical programming.Chávez has regularly used cadenas to attack the private media andamplify the government’s voice. From 1999, when he first took office, untilJanuary 2010, Chávez delivered nearly 2,000 cadenas, accounting for morethan 1,300 broadcast hours, or the equivalent of 54 full days, accordingto research by AGB Nielsen. Chávez also used a weekly call-in program,“Aló, Presidente,” aired on state radio and television, to lambaste news113