US Media Bias and Recent Student Violence in Venezuela

Why is it that the U.S. media condemns Venezuelan President Hugo
Chávez for limiting freedom of press while in the same breath
self-censoring their Venezuelan news coverage to such an extent that it
completely distorts the story? This has been the case ever since Chávez
came to office, but last week, after the incidents at the Central
Venezuelan University, the asymmetries once again were violently thrust
to the surface.

Next month’s controversial constitutional reform has again sent
Venezuelans into the streets and into headlines around the world.
President Hugo Chávez has likened the current political climate to the
spring of 2002, which culminated in a short-lived coup d’état ousting
Chávez for 2 days. Pro- and anti-government sides have each launched
vicious attacks on one another. The polarized Venezuelan media coverage
has created a confused and divided environment in which it is common to
see stories written with substantial pieces left out. The international
media is never far from the sidelines. Last week, in standard fashion,
nearly every major US newspaper momentarily forgot their commitment to
an independent press, and omitted crucial facts, martyring the
Venezuelan opposition student movement, and acting as a de facto
mouthpiece for the opposition.

Sean McCormick, spokesperson for the US state Department, had this
to say on the morning of November 8th: “These people are just
expressing themselves in a peaceful manner. They’ve had a view contrary
to the views held by the government, but it was a peaceful protest, as
far as I’ve been able to determine from the news reports.”

An analysis of 10 major U.S. media outlets shows very consistent
reporting of the story. Seven of the 10 reprinted the same AP story.
Only the Washington Post, however briefly, brings to light that there
are even two different sides. Most media outlets reported that
following peaceful protests in downtown Caracas, masked Chavista-gunman
attacked anti-government supporters on the campus of the Central
University of Venezuela (UCV). Photos of the masked gunman have
accompanied most of these articles lending themselves as powerful
images of violence against peaceful protestors.

The Miami Herald reported photographers for The Associated Press saw
at least four gunmen – their faces covered by ski masks or T-shirts –
firing handguns at the anti- Chávez crowd at the UCV. Terrified
students ran through the campus as ambulances arrived. The New York
Times on Nov. 7th led with the following: “Masked gunmen shot into a
group of students on Wednesday at this country as most prestigious
university. The students were returning from a march here protesting
changes to the Constitution proposed by President Hugo Chávez that
could allow him to remain in power indefinitely.” The following day,
the Times printed a quote from one of the student leaders likening
their tactics to those of Gandhi.

Unfortunately, these reports have left out an important chunk of the
story. After last Wednesday’s peaceful protest, many students headed
back to UCV campus. Here is where things get complicated. According to
Chávez supporters, eyewitnesses, and videotape recorded by the
community TV station, Catia TV, opposition students, mainly from
neighboring privates Universities, chased down a group of pro- Chávez
students putting up signs in favor of the reform. The pro-Chávez group
found refuge in the faculty of Social Work, which is known to be a
Chávez friendly zone, and where it was also reported that another group
of pro-Chávez students were meeting. The opposition students surrounded
the faculty, armed with weapons, rocks, and gas masks shouting, “We
will lynch you all.” According to reports, opposition students fired
weapons, threw rocks at the students inside the building, and lit fire
to the entrance. Chávez supporters present that day affirm that the
motorcyclists televised to the world as sinister gunmen, arrived on the
scene as part of a rescue mission to help their companions trapped
inside the building by the rabid opposition outside. They argue that
this was necessary because the Venezuelan army or police force are, by
law, not allowed to enter the grounds of the University. To this day,
the entire truth is not known about the events at the UCV last
Wednesday, but the inability of the international press to report an
unbiased account calls into question their journalist integrity. The
consequences of this could lead to further violence in Venezuela.

Media distortion is nothing new in Venezuela. The media played a
critical role during the 2002 Coup d’état which removed Chávez from
power temporarily. At the time major outlets ordered a blackout of pro-
Chávez street protests. The movement in the street ultimately led to
the return of the President, and has encouraged a new generation of
community media around the country. It was those small community
stations that spread the news that wasn’t available on the major
outlets. What the private and international mainstream media reported
is that pro-government protesters had fired at opposition marchers,
killing over a dozen. It was later revealed that video footage was
manipulated, as were the reports, and that in fact the deaths were
caused by snipers firing from the nearby buildings, and the
pro-government protesters were defending themselves from the armored
vehicles of the metropolitan police, advancing on the crowds from only
a few blocks away. This past summer the Venezuelan government pointed
to the role of Radio Caracas Television in the 2002 coup as the impetus
for not renewing its broadcast license. This is a fact that was
consistently left out of the story reported in the private and
international media. The RCTV story read that Chávez was silencing the
station due to their opposition to his policies. The same story
continues to be perpetuated in the US media today. Unfortunately, this
one-sided hypocrisy intentionally leaves out facts leading to one-sided
coverage.

This type of journalism not only misrepresents the truth, but its
impact can have dangerous and lasting effects on Venezuela. We should
call on our media to take more care, to ensure that it reports
everything that is to be reported, and not just the image it wants to
portray.

JoJo Farrell directs Global Exchanges Venezuelan Reality Tour
Program which aims to expose U.S. Citizens to the complex realities of
Venezuela. He can be reached at [email protected].