Heather Boender's Research
Media in Venezuela
Synopsis: My topic may sound
odd, but it is actually quite interesting once you start researching it.
Venezuela has a strong media influence and presence. There are several
national and regional newspapers, television stations, and magazines. There
is also a heavy influx of English-speaking media from the United States
in Venezuela. I tried to find out what the media was like in Venezuela
and how much of a role it played in the lives of Venezuelan citizens. I
compared Venezuelan media to media in the United States and also researched
how much of an influence media from the United States had on Venezuela's
media and culture. I found out some very interesting information about
Venezuela's media and learned a lot about their lifestyle. I chose this
topic because I am a Spanish minor and therefore am interested in issues
in Spanish-speaking countries. I also have a friend in Venezuela and like
to learn about communication in other parts of the world. The Web was very
useful for my project because I could read newspapers, magazines, and home
pages of Venezuelan television and radio stations without having to go
there to get them. I also gained some personal contacts with people through
the Internet.
World Wide Web Sources (examples below):
"Principales Medios de Comunicacion en Venezuela"
<http://www.ven.net/~dirpweb/media.html>
This web site is in Spanish and focuses on media in Venezuela. It is
broken up into categories with links such as noticias nacionales (national
news), revistas (magazines), television and radio. This site was valuable
to my research because it provided a simple way for me to directly access
specific media publications in Venezuela. It is produced by the Armada
de Venezuela. [Accessed 17 April 1998].
"Venezuela OnWEB Guides: Advertising and Media,"
<http://venonweb.com/areapublicimed.html>
This web site is a Spanish and English guide to different types of
media organizations in Venezuela. There are numerous categories of media
with brief descriptions on each category. The site contains several excellent
links to Venezuelan media sources. It is more complete than the web site
above and also is in English for those who do not speak Spanish. I found
it more helpful than the previous website because it went more in depth
and provided English for when my Spanish was rusty. [Accessed 17 April
1998].
"Media in Venezuela"
<http://www.escapeartist.com/venezuela8/media.htm>
This web site is completely in English and centers on helping outsiders
understand the media environment of Venezuela. The page is separated into
sections such as news, media and communciations in Venezuela, magazines
and periodicals, television, and radio. The many links on this page connect
directly to media organizations in Venezuela. This source was useful because
I could link to radio stations in Venezuela and also provided me with some
background information about the media situation in Venezuela.
Other Reference Sources:
Aguirre, Jose Maria. De la practica periodistica a la investigacion comunicacional: hitos de pensamiento Venezolano sobre comunicacion social y culturas de masas. Caracas: Universidad Catolica Andres Bello Fondo de Publicaciones, Fundacion POLAR-UCAB, 1996.
This book was very helpful to my research in that it defined the media situation in Venezuela and described many different aspcects of the media environment. The book has complete chapters on subjects such as "De la teoria de la dependencia comunicacional a la confrontacion con el desarrollismo" and "De la critica a las practicas politicas de comunicacion. This book is completely in Spanish, so I hope I understood all it had to say. The book brought me to a better understanding of the insider's view of Venezuelan media.
Glaberson, William. "Newspapers endorse call for a free press." The New York Times online, 28 April 1994.
This article in the New York Times deals with international law in media. The Inter-American Press Association tried in 1994 to pass a declaration in several countries aying that "journalists may not be punished for publishing the truth or criticizing free speech." The declaration also said that journalists should have free access to government information and should not be censored by the government. Venezuela's government tried to pass legislation ot limit press freedom and therefore this declaration did not pass in Venezuela. This article explained some of the struggles Venezuelan journalists face and how the government has control over the media.
No author stated. "The Media in Venezuela is controlled by a small number of owners." The Latin American Report of the Andean Group Regional Report online, 17 May 1985.
This Latin American Report describes the media ownership situation in Venezuela. Like many Latin American Countries, Venezuela's vast media is owned by only a handful of people. These families run the media in Venezuela for the most part. They may own more than one publication in each of the media categories, such as newpapers, radio, television, magazines, etc. This type of ownership brings up issues of fairness and objectivity in Venezuela's media. This information helped me understand that the media in Venezuela is controlled not only by the government but by the small group of media owners.
Stevenson, Robert L. Global Communication in the Twenty-First Century. New York: Longman Publishing Group, 1994.
Though this book is a textbook, it provided me with the backbone and framework for my research. I am using the textbook for JOMC 146, a class I am taking here at UNC called "International Communication". The book discusses several types of media such as development media, revolutionary media, etc. It also investigates Western Mass Media and the influences that media from countries like the United States have on other nations.
Vanden Heuval, Jon and Everette E. Dennis. Changing Patterns: Latin America's vital Media: A report of the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center at Columbia University in the City of New York. New York: The Center,1995.
This book's chapter on Venezuela was a wonderful source of information both on Venezuela in general and its media. It addresses the political situation in Venezuela, the media environment, the ownership issue, media law, and topics such as broadcasting and the press. It ties the state of Venezuela's media to past political corruption from the oil revenues of the 1970's and the family domination in ownership. Of all of my sources, this book was probably the most helpful and concise in explaining Venezuelan media and society.
General comments:
I used sources from both the Web and from print for my research. There
was a big difference in the type of information I received on the Web and
the type of information I received from my print sources. The data I collected
from print sources consisted of historical background, charts, and concrete
studies done on the media situation in Venezuela. The Web, on the otherhand,
provided me with direct access to the actual media publications themselves.
In other words, the print sources gave me the background information and
the societal context of the media, mentioning the major media outlets in
Venezuela. The Web allowed me to visit the newspapers, magazines, radio
stations, and television stations discussed in the print sources, without
having to travel to Venezuela to view them in person. For my topic, I think
a mix of print and online sources is the best solution for research. The
Web is constantly changing and always has up-to-date information, yet cannot
always be trusted. Print sources are more trustworthy and fact-filled,
but are less current. For my research, the print and online sources worked
as a partnership to help me learn more about Venezuelan media. What one
source left out, the other provided.
| Contact me at hboender@email.unc.edu | This page was updated on 17 April 1998. |