Today we celebrate the national day of journalists in Venezuela. Because of this day, it’s worth remembering a phrase that was written in the streets of Argentina during the December 2001 crisis: “They piss on us and the press says it’s raining”. This aphorism captions the situation of the social media today. Readers are reading, listening, or watching the information they receive more and more carefully.
However, the people of Venezuela have gone beyond that. [...]
[The director of alternative and community media with the communications ministry] Reinaldo Escorcia considers the 2002 Regulation of Radio Difusion and Community Open Television for Public Service and Non Profit a landmark in popular communication: “That was the first tool that gave those types of media legality. From that moment popular communication began to grow”. [...]
Escorcia said that from 2002 growth of popular media has been blooming. According to ministry of communication statistics, between that year and 2009, over 200 radio and television operators around Venezuela went to air.
In that regard, the current list of popular media that the National Telecommunication Commission has on its website includes 244 radio stations and 36 television stations. Of those, the greatest number of radio stations are in Zulia state, with 26, followed by Merida wtih 21, and Lara with 19. In television, the states with more alternative and community channels are Aragua and Tachira, with 5, followed by Zulia and Miranda with 3.
Regarding printed and digital media, the ministry civil servant said that there are currently more than 2015 print publications, and around 80 digital ones. [...]
On the support provided by the Bolivarian government to the popular media, Escorcia pointed out its technical, technological, and educational support. “The state is a companion in this process. The movement is autonomous and its respected as such”. [...]