34 Radio Stations Forced OFF Air in Venezuela

[peaceandlove]

SOURCE: G. Edward Griffin website: http://www.realityzone.com/currentperiod.html
Venezuela: 34 radio stations forced off the air by Communist Hugo Chavez because they were critical of his regime. TV stations are next in line. All media outlets are slated for government control - just like in the rest of the world. AP 2009 Aug 4 (Cached)

34 Radio Stations Forced OFF Air in Venezuela

By FABIOLA SANCHEZ (AP) – 2 days ago

CARACAS, Venezuela — Radio hosts hung their heads as their FM station was forced off the airwaves along with 33 other broadcasters targeted by President Hugo Chavez's government in what critics say is a campaign to muzzle his foes.

For the first time in decades, CNB 102.3 FM fell silent over the weekend after Venezuela's telecommunications regulators revoked some of the 34 stations' licenses and refused to renew others.

But CNB challenged the government action within hours by starting to transmit programming over the Internet. Sportscaster Juan Carlos Rutilo told his online listeners: "Today freedom of expression is being restricted. ... Today you have one less option."

Continues: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...P5-nwD99RN4CG1

[Steve_A]

Hi peaceandlove,

There is normally a real reason (not only an idealogical one) why these radio stations were taken from off the air. If the reason was a political one, they would have been taken down a long time ago.

I'm not particularly a huge Chavez fan, in spite of the fact that Venezuela sells the cheapest domestic petrol in the world - but that's another story.

I don't really see much difference in the way that Brazil is being run and Venezuela in culural terms and so can relate to the story.

It's my guess that the 34 radio stations were not legally operating, for one reason or another.

Radio stations need to operate within certain parameters, for example, a community radio station can only operate withing a 3 km radius and cannot have paid advertising. It is declared as a public service (even if the radio is privately owned). Here in Brazil the vast majority of community radio break these rules.

Commercial radio can only have a certain transmission area and is limited as to what it can do also, but, once again they tend to ignore the rules and start bleeding over aircraft and emergency service transmissions.

I once was giving an interview here in Pernambuco on the radio and during the program the guys from ANATEL came and shut the station down as the radio was transmitting from an antenna whose power frequency was five times the legal limit. By the way, in Pernambuco State there is only ONE community radio station that is perfectly legal, not because it is difficult to get a license, but because of the informality over here. I don't see Venezuela much different.

So what happens? Here in Brazil they have what are called 'multirões' where they do a swoop on as many as they can in one go. It seems to be more efficient that way. ANATEL, instead of sending a team out each day trying to shut these stations down would wait until it has twenty, thirty or more stations logged as irregular and send ten teams out to shut them all down, to avoid people stop transmitting and escaping.

I can't imagine Venezuela being any different. Of course Hugo Chavez being president and being seen in the West as being a dictator, the reason must be that he personally ordered a select few radio stations to be shut down. The western press are to think what else? Especially with the US calling Chavez out because he doesn't want to trade in US$.

Best regards,

Steve

Originally Posted by peaceandlove

SOURCE: G. Edward Griffin website: http://www.realityzone.com/currentperiod.html
Venezuela: 34 radio stations forced off the air by Communist Hugo Chavez because they were critical of his regime. TV stations are next in line. All media outlets are slated for government control - just like in the rest of the world. AP 2009 Aug 4 (Cached)

34 Radio Stations Forced OFF Air in Venezuela

By FABIOLA SANCHEZ (AP) – 2 days ago

CARACAS, Venezuela — Radio hosts hung their heads as their FM station was forced off the airwaves along with 33 other broadcasters targeted by President Hugo Chavez's government in what critics say is a campaign to muzzle his foes.

For the first time in decades, CNB 102.3 FM fell silent over the weekend after Venezuela's telecommunications regulators revoked some of the 34 stations' licenses and refused to renew others.

But CNB challenged the government action within hours by starting to transmit programming over the Internet. Sportscaster Juan Carlos Rutilo told his online listeners: "Today freedom of expression is being restricted. ... Today you have one less option."

Continues: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...P5-nwD99RN4CG1

[sunflower]

Hi Steven, your take on the situation makes sense. And thanks, Peace and Love, for taking the time to bring this to our attention. I didn't realize that Chavez was "communist"!!!