Caracas
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is helping launch a television network to counteract what he calls “the media dictatorship of the big international news networks.” Telesur, scheduled to begin broadcasting in July, will give the left-leaning Chavez and allies in Cuba, Brazil, and other Latin American countries an outlet for news from their perspective—much like Al-Jazeera does for the Arab world. “We will see our own reality on the air,” said Telesur’s director, Aram Aharonian. But critics say Chavez, who has survived a coup attempt and a recall election, is trying to monopolize the airwaves. In March, his government amended Venezuela’s criminal code, making it a crime to insult his government.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The marvelous powers of mucusThe Explainer It's snot just a pesky cold symptom
-
What to know about the 'no tax on tips' policyThe Explainer The new bill would make tip income exempt from federal income taxes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study findsSpeed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
