To: New York Times, Margaret Sullivan, Public Editor, and William Neuman, Reporter
.@nytimes: Fix Your False Reporting on Venezuela
Just Foreign Policy
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The New York Times must correct its false report that voices critical of the government are excluded from Venezuelan TV.
Why is this important?
UPDATE: The NYT published a correction, which is why we have flagged this campaign as a victory. FAIR wrote up the story here:
http://www.fair.org/blog/2014/02/27/nyt-corrects-venezuela-tv-falsehood/
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In the lead paragraph of an article on protests in Venezuela, the New York Times falsely reported: "The only television station that regularly broadcast voices critical of the government was sold last year, and the new owners have softened its news coverage." Evidence demonstrating that voices critical of the government are regularly broadcast in Venezuelan media is a matter of public record. The New York Times should run a correction of its false report. Urge New York Times editors to run a correction by signing our petition.
On February 24, CEPR Co-director Mark Weisbrot noted [2] that
data on television coverage during last year's presidential campaign published by the Carter Center [3] indicated that the two candidates were fairly evenly represented.
Weisbrot also noted that there are plenty of examples in the recent coverage of Venevisión, the biggest broadcast television station, where “voices critical of the government” have been “regularly broadcast.” In particular, there was an interview on Venevisión news with Tomás Guanipa, leader of the opposition Primero Justicia (Justice First) party and a representative in the National Assembly, who defended the protests. [4]
Weisbrot also noted that Globovisión, the station that the Times report complained had “softened its news coverage,” recently broadcast a long interview with opposition leader María Corina Machado in which she argued that the opposition has the right to overthrow the democratically elected government. [5]
Given the current situation in Venezuela, falsely claiming that mass media are closed to critics of the government is a dangerous mistake, similar to reporting that "we know that Iran is building a nuclear weapon." The false claim about Venezuela emboldens the faction of the opposition—and its supporters abroad—that is advocating the use of violence to oppose the government.
Urge the New York Times to fulfill its responsibility to publish a correction to its false report.
References:
1. "Protests Swell in Venezuela as Places to Rally Disappear," William Neuman, New York Times, February 20, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/world/americas/protests-swell-in-venezuela-as-places-to-rally-disappear.html
2. "Does Venezuelan Television Provide Coverage That Opposes the Government?" Mark Weisbrot, Center for Economic and Policy Research, February 24, 2014, http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/the-americas-blog/does-venezuelan-television-provide-coverage-that-opposes-the-government
3. "Carter Center Issues Report on Venezuela Election," July 3, 2013
http://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/venezuela-070313.html
4. “Entrevista Venevisión: Tomás Guanipa, secretario general de Primero Justicia,” Venevisión, February 20, 2014, http://www.noticierovenevision.net/politica/2014/febrero/20/89967=entrevista-venevision-tomas-guanipa,-secretario-general-de-primero-justicia
5. “María Corina Machado: El pueblo ha salido a la calle a expresar su derecho a la justicia,” Globovisión, February 17, 2014, http://globovision.com/articulo/maria-corina-machado-ofrecera-detalles-sobre-convocatoria-para-este-martes
http://www.fair.org/blog/2014/02/27/nyt-corrects-venezuela-tv-falsehood/
=======
In the lead paragraph of an article on protests in Venezuela, the New York Times falsely reported: "The only television station that regularly broadcast voices critical of the government was sold last year, and the new owners have softened its news coverage." Evidence demonstrating that voices critical of the government are regularly broadcast in Venezuelan media is a matter of public record. The New York Times should run a correction of its false report. Urge New York Times editors to run a correction by signing our petition.
On February 24, CEPR Co-director Mark Weisbrot noted [2] that
data on television coverage during last year's presidential campaign published by the Carter Center [3] indicated that the two candidates were fairly evenly represented.
Weisbrot also noted that there are plenty of examples in the recent coverage of Venevisión, the biggest broadcast television station, where “voices critical of the government” have been “regularly broadcast.” In particular, there was an interview on Venevisión news with Tomás Guanipa, leader of the opposition Primero Justicia (Justice First) party and a representative in the National Assembly, who defended the protests. [4]
Weisbrot also noted that Globovisión, the station that the Times report complained had “softened its news coverage,” recently broadcast a long interview with opposition leader María Corina Machado in which she argued that the opposition has the right to overthrow the democratically elected government. [5]
Given the current situation in Venezuela, falsely claiming that mass media are closed to critics of the government is a dangerous mistake, similar to reporting that "we know that Iran is building a nuclear weapon." The false claim about Venezuela emboldens the faction of the opposition—and its supporters abroad—that is advocating the use of violence to oppose the government.
Urge the New York Times to fulfill its responsibility to publish a correction to its false report.
References:
1. "Protests Swell in Venezuela as Places to Rally Disappear," William Neuman, New York Times, February 20, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/world/americas/protests-swell-in-venezuela-as-places-to-rally-disappear.html
2. "Does Venezuelan Television Provide Coverage That Opposes the Government?" Mark Weisbrot, Center for Economic and Policy Research, February 24, 2014, http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/the-americas-blog/does-venezuelan-television-provide-coverage-that-opposes-the-government
3. "Carter Center Issues Report on Venezuela Election," July 3, 2013
http://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/venezuela-070313.html
4. “Entrevista Venevisión: Tomás Guanipa, secretario general de Primero Justicia,” Venevisión, February 20, 2014, http://www.noticierovenevision.net/politica/2014/febrero/20/89967=entrevista-venevision-tomas-guanipa,-secretario-general-de-primero-justicia
5. “María Corina Machado: El pueblo ha salido a la calle a expresar su derecho a la justicia,” Globovisión, February 17, 2014, http://globovision.com/articulo/maria-corina-machado-ofrecera-detalles-sobre-convocatoria-para-este-martes