Analysis
by Steve Rendall, Daniel Ward and Tess Hall
Feb 2 2009
Any evenhanded comparison of the Colombian and Venezuelan governments’ human rights records would have to note that, though Venezuela’s record is far from perfect, that country is by every measure a safer place than Colombia to live, vote, organize unions and political groups, speak out against the government or practice journalism.
by Kevin Young
Dec 19 2008
U.S. news coverage of parallel political events in Colombia and Venezuela offers an opportunity to test the usefulness of Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky’s “propaganda model,” developed in their 1988 book Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (Pantheon, reissued 2002). The model predicts that the news media will look favorably upon the Colombian government of Álvaro Uribe, a close U.S. ally, while consistently vilifying the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chávez, whom the U.S. government frequently identifies as an antagonist. If the model holds, U.S.
by Kathryn Ledebur
Sep 4 2008
Although New York Times reporter Simon Romero attempts to characterize the truly complex relationship between Bolivia and the United States in "Bolivia is an Uneasy Ally as U.S. Presses Drug War," (NYT, 8/29/09) the article contains multiple inaccuracies and misleading information. It is crucial to have a clear vision of the intricacies of the coca issue in Bolivia to understand it.
Here are some quotes from the article and the Andean Information Network's response:
by Janine Jackson
Jul 24 2008
In an April 10 editorial headlined “Drop Dead, Colombia,” the Washington Post excoriated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for holding up passage of a proposed trade promotion deal with Colombia. With the hyperbole the paper seems to reserve for this issue, the Post declared, “The year 2008 may enter history as the time when the Democratic Party lost its way on trade.”
by Andrew Kennis
Jul 15 2008
Listening to accounts by the U.S. news media and to the public postures taken by the Bush administration, one would think that there is no freedom of expression in Venezuela. The impression most U.S. citizens have is that the media is virtually under direct state control. Independent reporting, free from the government’s fiery rhetoric, has been noticeably absent. A careful and sober account of Venezuelan media that focuses on the most basic and uncontroversial facts of what constitutes the Venezuelan media today has been non-existent in mainstream U.S.
by Bret Gustafson
Jun 30 2008
If one reads the mainstream U.S. press to understand recent events in Bolivia, the following composite story emerges: Bolivia is a deeply divided and fractured country of profound cleavages, bitter fragmentation, and civil conflict, most of which can be attributed to the country’s president, Evo Morales, elected in late 2005. A member of the Aymara ethnic group and Bolivia’s first indigenous president, Morales is trying to give Indians a bigger role in government and a greater share of the economic pie.
by Kathryn Ledebur
Jun 24 2008
Apparently, Miami is a parallel universe where reality can be distorted with impunity. It's hard to know where to begin a critique of this June 17 Miami Herald editorial. Although the protest was tense, this manipulative account is unforgivable. Eduardo Gamarra also grossly distorts the background leading up to the protests.
Inaccuracies and response:
by Garry Leech
Jun 3 2008
In a civil conflict such as the one in Colombia, propaganda is an important weapon. It is difficult for journalists and analysts to independently investigate the reality on the ground and so statistics and information are obtained from a variety of sources in order to draw conclusions. However, the mainstream media in the United States is often over-reliant on two sources: Colombian and US government officials. Not surprisingly then, it is the perspectives of the Colombian and US governments that inevitably dominate most news reports.
by Josh Silver
May 16 2008
Thursday night, the Senate cast a near-unanimous vote to reverse the Federal Communication Commission’s December 2007 decision to let media companies own both a major TV or radio station and a major daily newspaper in the same city.
by Various Authors
Apr 28 2008
Later this month, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) will publicly determine the “authenticity” of laptops recovered from a rebel encampment in Ecuador after a March 1 raid on the camp by the Colombian military. Based on previous press coverage of the incursion and the documents, we are concerned that the media take extreme care in interpreting the Interpol findings.
