Two decades of restrictions: more than 400 media outlets closed in Venezuela

Venezuelan families no longer sit in front of the television to watch the news, nor do they go to kiosks to buy newspapers. The information culture has not only migrated to social networks, but has decreased considerably, as has the number of media outlets. In 20 years, more than 400 media outlets have closed in the country.

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Government pressure, revoked concessions, government refusals to sell paper to newspapers, are the main reasons. In the Caribbean country, it is the State that controls the radio spectrum, as well as the sale and supply of paper for printing presses. Today there is only an ecosystem of 879 media left.

These data are from the latest report from the Espacio Público organization, which in recent years has been responsible for recording abuses of freedom of expression. increasingly limited in Venezuela, like its peers Cuba and Nicaragua.

“In addition, impediments to the work of the press remain, a situation present not only in public institutions, but also in service stations, tourist places or during the coverage of citizen protests or other news events, especially when these demand the presence of bodies.” of State security,” the report reads.

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One of the best-known cases is that of the newspaper El Nacional, which this year reaches its 81st anniversary, without paper, without headquarters and with intense blocking of its website. If a Venezuelan wants to read a news item in this newspaper, he has to download a VPN, otherwise he cannot enter the page.

“We will return in democracy” The director of El Nacional, Miguel Henrique Otero, has reiterated on several occasions. In one of the last interviews with EL TIEMPO, he reiterated that despite the suffocation, the decrease in the number of journalists in his newsroom and the constant threats, “they will continue doing journalism.”

The situation of the media in Venezuela is a deeply restrictive media sphere, for example, “any media outlet that gave participation to María Corina Machado, who was participating in the internal opposition elections, could be subjected to a lot of pressure” explains to EL TIEMPO, Carlos Correa, director of the NGO Espacio Público.

“In Venezuela there are around 100 news portals, which is undoubtedly the window through which the greatest quality information circulates. and independent journalism, but 50 percent of them are blocked,” Correa reiterates.

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The situation is worsening because the actions of the State not only limit freedom of expression, but there are fewer and fewer jobs. For comparison, university studies and press reports count some 306 native network media outlets in Colombia until 2021.

But in addition, there are 27 newspapers, 1,338 radio stations, 120 television channels, 76 subscription television concessionaires, 119 film production companies and 3 distribution companies.

According to Espacio Público's 2023 mapping, in Venezuela there are at least 879 operational media and communication initiatives, of which 56 percent are traditional formats: that is, radio, print and television. Regarding the editorial line of traditional media, 21 percent said they had a pro-government line, while 8 percent called themselves pro-opposition.

Challenges of journalism in Venezuela

Heberlizeth Gonzáles is a journalist based in Valencia, two hours from Caracas, and who saw how the newspaper she worked for ceased operations when it ran out of paper in 2015.

“We couldn't continue circulating because there was no paper. There were rallies outside the newspaper, vigils, different activities, which of course in the end were of no use because the closure was already a fact”, Gonzáles tells this newspaper.
Almost 10 years later, the future is not promising.

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“The generations that come from studying journalism, where are they going to work, where are they going to practice?” asks Gonzáles, who now carries information through his networks and tries to project a website, but without sponsorship it is more complex.

“Venezuela is becoming one of the countries that are in the queue of guarantees for the practice of journalism”laments Correa of ​​Espacio Público.
In universities, journalism students, for the most part, do not know a newspaper, nor do they watch television, since there are only four news channels, two openly pro-government and two that are limited to information that does not affect the Government.

“We read the PDF files of several newspapers, but I have never touched a newsprint, because the few that remain only bring official news,” says Jairo Cabrera, a student at a private university in Caracas who hopes to become an events reporter. in the future.

Although the Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights maintains that the blocking of web pages, IP addresses, ports or network protocols applied by the State in order to counteract disinformation constitutes an extreme and disproportionate measure, Therefore, it is admitted only when stipulated by law and necessary to guarantee or protect a human right, but in Venezuela it is not enough.

So, it is very difficult to think about the future of journalism in Venezuela if the logic of an authoritarian government is maintained, Espacio Público emphasizes, otherwise, it will continue to be very difficult to keep Venezuelan society informed, says Correa.

ANA MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ BRAZÓN
TIME CORRESPONDENT
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