By Isabela Fraga
The director of Globovisón, one of the most critical private television networks of the Venezuelan government, announced that it will be sold after the April 14 presidential election, reported the newspaper El Universal.
According to Carlos Zuloaga, vice president of the network, the buyer will be Juan Domingo Cordero, director of the insurance company La Vitalicia, which has already made an offer, reported the website Últimas Noticias. In a letter to employees, Zuolaga said:
“The political situation and polarization became increasingly powerful attacks on Globovisión. Last year, I made the decision to do everything in our reach to make sure the opposition won the [presidential] election in October but the opposition lost. We are not economically viable because our incomes no longer cover our expenses. We are not politically viable because we are in a country that is totally polarized and we are against a powerful government that wants to see us fail. We are not viable legally because our license is about to end and we are not interested in renewing it.”
The vice president referred to a fine the broadcaster received from the National Telecommunications Commission in January 2012 for $5.6 million over its coverage of a prison riot.
The president of the non-governmental organization Journalists for the Truth, Marco Hernández, said claims of Globovisión’s economic viability were dubious, reported the Venezuelan state-run network VTV. “Just look at the advertising revenue of Globovisión, which grossed 120 million bolívares (over $19 million) two years ago with a net gain of 11 million bolívares ($1.8 million).” According to Hernández, the broadcaster’s owners accepted already accepted defeat in the up-coming presidential election and knew that their license would not be renewed because of their “unethical, lying and illegal behavior.”
Inter American Press Association President Jaime Montilla lamented the sale of the network, which he considered a blow to freedom of expression in Latin America, reported the Agence France-Presse. “The principal shareholder’s (Zuloaga) decision to sell the only truly independent channel in Venezuela surprised us,” Montilla said during IAPA’s Mid-Year meeting in Puebla, Mexico.
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.
