Chavez says media 'tyranny' should be regulated

2009-07-11 02:24:01 -

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez on Friday called for more regulation of the media in Venezuela, denouncing what he calls a private media «tyranny» on the airwaves.
Chavez also endorsed a move to revoke the licenses of 240 radio stations _ about 40 percent of the country's stations _ after officials said they didn't update their registrations with the country's telecommunications commission. He said his government is «applying the constitution and applying the law,» and that many stations simply failed to update their permits.
Chavez's government has been hardening its stance toward the private media recently after years of tensions. Officials have launched investigations into opposition-aligned television station Globovision that could lead to its closure. The government is also proposing to break up nationwide radio networks with more than three stations, and has endorsed plans for a proposed law that would punish as-yet-unspecified «media crimes.
«There can be no human activity in a democracy that isn't regulated, regulated by law,» Chavez told a news conference. «Some want the press not to be regulated at all.
As for the airwaves, Chavez said: «That must be democratized. There's a tyranny here. ... I wish they'd do that in the United States, there too.
«No one here should try to defend the indefensible _ that there be freedom to abuse, to disfigure the truth, for a person to own 40 radio stations and on top of that to not renew or even present any paperwork when his permit expires,» Chavez said.
The socialist president denounced what he called «terror propaganda» in the opposition media, apparently referring to a series of advertisements by the non-governmental organization Cedice, which the group says are aimed at defending private property rights. One newspaper ad depicts a pregnant woman and warns that proposed government measures could «take away what belongs to you.
«Printed propaganda aimed at the minds of mothers,» Chavez said. «Propaganda by radio, by television, trying to generate panic in the population. That can't be permitted. That has to be regulated.
It remains unclear what additional steps the government intends to take to stiffen regulations, or how it intends to divvy up the radio airwaves.
Venezuela already has strict broadcast laws, which include a measure requiring all broadcasters to carry Chavez's speeches when the president deems appropriate.
Top telecommunications official Diosdado Cabello announced new regulations on Thursday that will require cable TV channels using largely locally produced programming to comply with Venezuelan laws governing broadcasters. Such cable channels have until now been exempt.
The change is likely to affect the anti-Chavez channel Radio Caracas Television, which moved to cable and satellite in 2007 after the president refused to renew its broadcast license.