Thousands of Venezuelans that used to support Globovisión, a television channel that before being sold a few weeks ago was known for its opposition to the Chavista government, expressed their resentment on Twitter and unfollowed the channel after journalist Francisco 'Kiko' Bautista was fired, reported newspaper El Universal.
With the hashtag #YanosigoaGlobovision ("I don't follow Globovision anymore"), users on Twitter promoted a campaign and in just 48 hours the number of persons following the channel dropped from 2,700,000 to 2,486,937, according to Clase de Periodismo. After it was sold, statements from the new owners suggested that the TV channel would now follow an editorial line that was closer to the administration of President Nicolas Maduro, which is what caused the reaction on Twitter.
'Kiko’ Bautista, host of the show "Buenas Noches," was fired after airing a speech from former opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, which was against the orders from the channel's new leadership, according to the site Notitarde.
On top of the incident with Bautista, the firing of congressman Ismael García from the program ‘Aló Venezuela’ also generated negative reactions from some Venezuelans that followed the channel on Twitter.
Considered by many to be the only independent channel willing to criticize the chavista government, Globovisión has had a very complicated history with Venezuelan officials for many years. The president of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), Jaime Montilla, called the channel's sale ablow for freedom of expression in Latin America, AFP reported.
See below a selection of tweets in Spanish published criticizing the channel's new editorial line and its recent firings:
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
