Intressanta mediadebatter i Caracas denna vecka.
Dueling media forums set for Venezuela
The Associated Press
President Hugo Chavez said Thursday he expects a "great debate" this weekend as dueling media conferences dissect and defend Venezuela's stance toward the press.
The Inter-American Press Association, or IAPA, one of the region's largest free speech groups, kicks off its semiannual meeting in Caracas on Friday. A day earlier, Chavez backers opened the "Latin American Meeting on Media Terrorism" forum to examine what they call slanted coverage of his government.
Chavez predicted that IAPA delegates "are going to be saying there's a dictatorship in Venezuela," while his supporters will explore issues including alleged links between media outlets and the U.S. government.
"I don't know if I'll go, I have so many things on the agenda," Chavez said in Brazil, noting he'd been invited to both gatherings. "The most important thing is that there's going to be a great debate."
The IAPA has criticized Chavez's record on press freedom, accusing him of using government-friendly prosecutors and judges to bring trumped-up charges against journalists.
Chavez denies any such crackdown, noting that dozens of newspapers, TV and radio stations regularly criticize his left-leaning government.
At an opening session of the state-sponsored forum, Venezuelan Information Minister Andres Izarra said some news media spread disinformation against Chavez and accused Washington of using the press for "psychological operations" against governments it doesn't like.
He also criticized coverage by the Miami Herald and Colombia's El Tiempo, and referred to CNN and Fox News coverage of the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan as "propaganda."
