As the media frenzy over RCTV was reaching its height in early March, some of us at The Daily Journal decided to put together a two-page center spread on the debate over the channel’s right to broadcast. But when we proposed the plan to our editor, he advised us keep it to—at most—one page. The issue, he said, was “too controversial.”


It was at that point that I decided to call it quits. Feeling frustrated and disillusioned, I relinquished my position at The Daily Journal a few weeks later. Lopez’s newspaper and television channel represent an emerging class of media, one defined by its government connections. At the same time, a war on the opposition-aligned media is being waged, as shown by the silencing of RCTV. Two days after it went off the air, Chávez publicly threatened to shut down Globovision, the only remaining opposition network, which he accused of inciting violence and misreporting recent protests against the RCTV decision. Such developments hardly bode well for Venezuela. As the government continues to expand its media microphone, the opposition’s voice is quickly dropping to a whisper.