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Venezuelan news executives defend themselves against allegations that they suppressed facts as the ousted president returned.
By DAVID ADAMS and PHIL GUNSON
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 18, 2002
CARACAS, Venezuela -- As Venezuela's coup began to collapse last weekend, a handful of the country's media barons were summoned to the presidential palace.
A day after Friday's ouster of President Hugo Chavez, the self-declared "transitional government" was losing its grip. The media were its last hope.
What happened next is disputed. Chavez loyalists say coup leaders, in a desperate bid to hang onto power, persuaded the media executives to suppress coverage of the unraveling coup.
Several of the executives flatly deny any such agreement.
But this much is certain: On Saturday, as protesters packed the streets and the presidential palace changed hands for the second time in two days, Venezuelan TV viewers were left in the dark. Instead of news, most got cartoons, reruns and Pretty Woman.
The next day, with Chavez safely back in the palace, none of the country's main Sunday newspapers appeared.
"It was a media coup, a complete blackout," said journalism professor Antonio Almeida, who teaches at the Central University of Venezuela. "Instead of informing the public they covered up the facts."
Amid the many questions stemming from the political turmoil that has engulfed Venezuela in recent days, the country's news operations -- television and radio in particular -- have plenty of answering to do.
The alleged self-censorship has prompted accusations that some owners allowed their stations to become accomplices of the coup and may also have actively participated in its design.
After his return to power, Chavez was quick to point his finger at the press.
"The news media have enormous power, and they should not act as a laboratory of lies," he said. He added that their actions during the coup amounted to "psychological terrorism."
Chavez accused the media of distorting information, magnifying the strength of the coup and creating confusion in military ranks.
"Some innocently let themselves become involved," he said, without naming names. "But there were others who were not so innocent and were directly involved."
As an example, Chavez said that during the coup TV stations refused to broadcast interviews with members of his government to give their side of the story.
Media bosses deny the allegations, saying they played no role in the coup.
"That's a fantasy," said Gustavo Cisneros, owner of Venevision, one of the country's top TV stations. Interviewed in a special report broadcast on his own channel, Cisneros added, "We haven't conspired, we didn't want to conspire, and we don't know how to conspire."
The allegations of censorship stem in large part from the close relationship between the media and a broad coalition of anti-Chavez forces comprising the country's main business groups and labor unions.
Like many in the private sector, media owners were deeply concerned by Chavez's leftist policies, which critics alleged were undermining the country's democratic institutions.
In recent months media bosses were engaged in a fierce battle with the Chavez government over press freedom. There was a financial aspect to their fears as well. The lucrative broadcast media operate under government licenses that Chavez had threatened to take away.
But Cisneros and others offer a different explanation for the lack of coverage. They say the alleged news blackout was the result of threats and intimidation from pro-Chavez demonstrators who laid siege to various TV stations in the capital.
"There were violent people on the street threatening our reporters. We had to think of their safety," said Victor Ferreres, Venevision's president. Protesters also blocked access to the station headquarters, making it impossible to transmit images.
Cisneros and Ferreres said Venevision had received a number of calls from people purporting to be members of the Chavez government. The station refused to take their calls, arguing that "it was impossible to verify who they were."
Critics scoffed at such claims, pointing out that one of the callers was Chavez's vice president, Diosdado Cabello.
The media's Saturday blackout contrasted sharply with the blanket coverage of events Thursday leading up to the coup. That included dramatic footage of the repression of a massive antigovernment march in which at least 15 people, including one photographer, were killed and hundreds injured.
"That day the stations allowed their reporters to be heroes, risking their lives," said Almeida, the journalism professor. "When the tables were turned, the stations decided they had to protect the lives of their staff and station property."
There was no denying an ugly climate of intimidation Saturday by Chavez supporters, as well as looting. On the other hand, there were no reports of journalists being hurt.
Protesters who besieged the offices of one station, RCTV, smashing some windows, said they were there only to demand that normal broadcasting be resumed.
"The palace is in our hands, why aren't you showing that?" they shouted.
Instead, RCTV was showing Walt Disney cartoons. Venevision ran a daylong marathon of Hollywood movies: Lorenzo's Oil, Nell and Pretty Woman. Another station, Televen, told its viewers "to stay indoors," treating them to baseball and soap operas.
Globovision, the country's top 24-hour news station and CNN affiliate, spent much of the day rebroadcasting upbeat footage of Chavez's ouster. An announcer repeatedly cautioned viewers, "We are living in times of political change." Viewers were urged to be "prudent" and avoid spreading "false alarms" and "rumors."
Moreover, Globovision president Alberto Ravell reportedly telephoned CNN offices in Atlanta to request the U.S. network join the blackout. CNN's Spanish-language station was giving ample coverage to Saturday's events, making it almost the only source of news for those with access to cable or satellite.
In a statement, CNN did not confirm or deny the request. Instead, an official statement acknowledged the affiliation with Globovision, adding, "We retain editorial control of all material which airs on the CNN networks."
On Tuesday, in an emotional appearance on his own station, Ravell asked for forgiveness "from any viewer who feels we failed them that day."
While also blaming the pro-Chavez demonstrations, he became the only media executive so far to acknowledge withholding information. "Sacrificing our credibility . . . and freedom of expression, we decided not to broadcast images of violence and looting."
Whatever the cause, news coverage was virtually nonexistent after Saturday's meeting, in which the media executives rolled up at the palace in shiny SUVs and limousines. They had been summoned by the interim defense minister, Gen. Hector Ramirez, to meet with interim President Pedro Carmona.
The group was led by Cisneros, the Venevision owner and one of the country's wealthiest and most influential figures. The Cisneros Group, which he heads, also holds a major stake in Spanish-language broadcasting in the United States.
A frequent visitor to Washington, Cisneros is a friend of former President George Bush. The two have made several fishing trips together in Venezuela.
Also present were Ravell of Globovision; Miguel Otero, publisher of the El Nacional group of newspapers; and Marcel Granier of RCTV.
In 1998, Cisneros and Otero were major contributors to Chavez's successful election campaign, helping organize positive media coverage. Like most in the private sector, they had grown disenchanted with Chavez in the years since.
According to palace reporters, Carmona and his team were unnerved by reports that a march of thousands of "Chav-istas" was headed for the palace. The crackle of gunfire could be heard from nearby slums overlooking the palace.
A key military base outside the capital had also announced its opposition to the coup.
Military officers loyal to Chavez were said to be getting up-to-the-minute information from within the palace, provided by sympathetic presidential guards.
"We knew exactly what was going on," said Lt. Col. William Farinas, who helped negotiate Chavez's return to power.
According to Farinas, the palace guards overheard Carmona telling the media barons: "In your hands lie the safety and stability of the government."
Ferreres, Venevision's president, denied the media delegation was pressured to censor its reporting. "We received no instructions either from the de facto government, nor any government," he said. "No one tells us what we can and cannot do."
Privately, however, Venezuelan journalists from several media outlets say news desks stopped taking their stories. Citing concerns over job reprisals, they agreed to speak on condition that their names not be used.
"Unless there is a serious internal investigation of what went on," said one reporter, "professional journalism in Venezuela is finished."
-- Times Latin America correspondent David Adams and correspondent Phil Gunson are reporting from Caracas.