(This post has two articles, the second being a rebuttal to the first. ZESTGlobal was founded keeping similar objectives in mind, albiet at a much smaller scale. Member reactions are welcome.)
Will truth go south on Telesur news? By Gary Marx Chicago Tribune | July 17, 2005 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0507170302jul17,1,540341.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true (Billed as an indigenous alternative to CNN and others, the new channel has backing from Cuba and Venezuela, raising concerns over objectivity) CARACAS, Venezuela -- There were no cameras in place, no anchors and no frenzied producers pushing to make deadline. But Aram Aharonian said everything was on schedule as he toured the partly completed headquarters of a new satellite television station that sees itself as an alternative to CNN, Fox News and European news organizations. "This is a dream, a dream of a lot of people," Aharonian, the station's general director, shouted above the din of construction workers' hammering and drilling. Late this month, Telesur--short for Television of the South--will begin broadcasting 24 hours a day across Latin America. While the network's goal is nothing short of changing the way Latin Americans view themselves and their news, critics say the station could become a propaganda tool for the region's re-emerging left. A pugnacious, pony-tailed journalist, Aharonian argues that U.S. and other mass media provide a superficial and distorted view of Latin America. He said the cameras show up only to cover disasters and beam images across the region and the world that display ignorance of the continent's complex realities. It is time, he contends, for Latin Americans to determine what is news and how it is reported. "Why do we have to continue seeing ourselves through the eyes of others?" asked Aharonian, a 59-year-old Uruguayan who has lived in Caracas since 1986. "Now we are going to begin seeing ourselves through our own eyes." Instead of fluffy reports about American pop stars or news pieces on distant lands, Telesur plans to focus its lens closer to home, broadcasting weighty documentaries on subjects ranging from the struggle for indigenous rights in Bolivia to the destruction of the Amazon rain forest. One Telesur program will promote tango, vallenato and other Latin sounds while another regular segment will profile groundbreaking Latin Americans. "Nojolivud," a program whose name is derived from a phonetic Spanish spelling of "No Hollywood," will showcase films made outside what Telesur executives call "the Hollywood system." But Telesur's news programs are sure to garner the greatest scrutiny. Although Telesur is a venture involving leftist governments in Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay, its main benefactor is Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a populist who derisively refers to the U.S. as "The Empire" and blames capitalism for the region's endemic poverty. Critics fear Chavez will use Telesur to project his ideas across Latin America at a time when some media executives and human-rights experts say Chavez has curbed free speech in his own country. "Can you imagine Telesur criticizing Mr. Chavez?" asked Alberto Federico Ravell, executive director of Globovision, a local 24-hour news channel highly critical of the president. "Chavez wants to become the leader of Latin America, and this is a project to support him." Causes for concern Ravell and other critics point to a number of what they see as ominous signs. For starters, Telesur's headquarters is on the same grounds as Venezuela's Channel 8, a state-run television station that flatters Chavez. Telesur's president is Andres Izarra, a veteran journalist who also is minister of communication and information in the Chavez government. Then there is the issue of Cuba, a part owner of Telesur that is providing the station technical support. "If the shareholders of this company belong to a government like Cuba where they have no basic concept of free speech and zero tolerance for independent views, God help us," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the Americas division of Human Rights Watch. Jorge Botero, a veteran Colombian television producer and Telesur's news director, acknowledged that Cuba doesn't practice "my ideal of journalism." He also said he admired Chavez, whom he described as a "great leader." "But I am not affiliated with his movement," Botero said. "I am an independent journalist." Aharonian said Telesur will have complete editorial independence from any government and that its only agenda is furthering Latin American unity. Everything else is fair game. "If the programming is bad and full of propaganda, then no one is going to watch it," said Aharonian, who has worked for United Press International, the Mexican newspaper Excelsior and Prensa Latina, the Cuban state news agency. "The only censor is the viewer. They can just click and change the channel," he said. Some dispute the notion that Latin America is getting its television news only from outsiders. Caroline Rittenberry, a spokeswoman for CNN en Espanol, a 24-hour Spanish-language news channel reaching more than 15 million households in the Americas, said the network covers the region in a comprehensive and sophisticated way. "We totally reject the notion that just because we are based in the U.S. we present a U.S. perspective of the news," said Rittenberry. "The overwhelming majority of editorial staff is from Latin America. We have correspondents in every country." The intense debate over a television network that has yet to go on the air reflects a broader ideological battle over the future of Latin America. But the new network also is part of a global struggle over how news is disseminated. The Internet is challenging the mainstream media's grip on information in the United States, with bloggers across the political spectrum assailing what they see as bias in newspapers and on broadcast networks. In the Arab world, the satellite news channel Al Jazeera has been criticized by U.S. officials who complain that it gives viewers an inaccurate version of events in the Middle East. Al Jazeera officials say they're merely reporting the truth from an Arab perspective. John Dinges, associate professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, said he did not expect Telesur to toe the middle line. But he said that did not mean the new network was without merit. "Generally in Latin America, the fact that a station has a political point of view does not rule them out of the club of good journalism," Dinges said. "I would love to see a successful television channel with hard-hitting journalism about Latin America." Chicago contributors With a first-year budget of about $10 million, Telesur is opening bureaus in six Latin American countries and Washington and also will air material from freelancers in Chicago and across the hemisphere. So far, the only glimpse of what Telesur might offer is an 11-minute video aired in May during a signal test. The video shows street demonstrations by peasants and images of leftist heroes such as former Chilean socialist President Salvador Allende, killed in a U.S.-backed coup in 1973. Telesur's look will be different from the high gloss of American network television. One anchor, Ati Kiwa, is an indigenous Colombian who will appear on camera in her tribe's traditional dress. The key to Telesur's success is not going head-to-head against the giants of broadcasting but providing an alternative to them, Aharonian said. "We are losing this [information] battle because we are not doing anything right now," he said. "We are simply setting up an alternative to the hegemonic communications industry that has one way of thinking and one message." ---------- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------ "Why Can't Foreign Lefties Learn to Be Objective Like Us?" By Christian Christensen CommonDreams.Org | July 18, 2005 http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0718-24.htm There really is nothing more amusing than members of the mainstream U.S. press getting on their high horses about the state of journalism in other countries. A classic case in point is the article written by Gary Marx of the Chicago Tribune on the new Latin American satellite channel, Telesur. Marx, it seems, is very concerned over possible conflicts of interest at the new 24-hour channel, as evidenced by the title of the piece: "Will Truth go South on Telesur News?" (Ha! Ha! "Go South." Latin America! Get it???) The blurb under the title doesn't get any more subtle: "Billed as an indigenous alternative to CNN and others, the new channel has backing from Cuba and Venezuela, raising concerns over objectivity." Marx notes that, "critics say the station could become a propaganda tool for the region's re-emerging left," and that the general manager of the station, Aram Aharonian, is both "pugnacious" and "pony-tailed." Naturally, as Marx artfully sledgehammers home to his readers, objectivity (and possibly a marijuana-free newsroom) can never be achieved with hair below the collar. To make matters worse, readers are informed that,"Telesur is a venture involving leftist governments in Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay, its main benefactor is Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a populist who derisively refers to the U.S. as "The Empire" and blames capitalism for the region's endemic poverty." As in most cases involving U.S. journalists reporting on international affairs, the crucial word "leftist" is never actually explained or defined, as doing so would involve the rather unfortunate task of doing research. As for the claim that capitalism just might have caused some problems in Latin America, Marx might want to Google the words "IMF Argentina" and see what he comes up with. (For background information on the Chicago Tribune's feelings about Chavez, see here.) Nor, for that matter, does Marx explain why having"leftist" governments involved mean that the channel could not be of high quality. I spent a great deal of time in Sweden, where a "leftist" (by U.S. standards)state has indirectly supported radio and television for the past 75 years. The last time I checked -- which is every day -- those news programs were objective and of a very high standard, unlike the consumption-cheerleading celebro-porn produced by many "news" organizations in the United States. We ignore genocide in Darfur in favor of 24-hour Michael Jackson and The Runaway Bride, yet have the gall to critique the journalism of other nations? Where Marx really makes his best joke, however, is when he asks whether or not Telesur will be able to criticize the Chavez government since the operation will be based on the grounds of Venezuela's state-run television station, Channel 8. In other words: will their journalistic integrity be compromised by political and economic pressures? That a journalist from the Chicago Tribune would worry about conflicts of interest at Telesur -- or any other media outlet, for that matter -- really shows some major-league chutzpah. Perhaps it would benefit Marx to come back to the United States and do a little investigative reporting on the political economy of his own employer: the Tribune Company. Let's start with what the company controls (from the Tribunecorporate website): "Tribune Broadcasting owns and operates 26 major-market television stations and reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. television households. The group is anchored by Superstation WGN, which can be seen in more than 57 million homes outside Chicago via cable and satellite services. Nineteen Tribune stations are affiliates of the growing WB Television Network, in which Tribune holds a 22 percent equity investment." And... "The company's market-leading newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and Newsday in New York. Tribune is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher in terms of revenue and No. 3 in total circulation. The company's publications are known for award-winning journalism, multimedia reporting and technological innovation. Newspapers currently owned by Tribune have won a combined 91 Pulitzer Prizes. They are read by about 9.3 million people on weekdays and 12.5 million on Sundays." So, Marx is working for one of the largest media conglomerates in the United States, and an organization with operating revenues in 2004 of just over $5.7 billion. Let's couple this with a quick look at some of the objective news people who sit on the board of Tribune Company: * Enrique (Rick) Hernandez, Jr: Chairman and chief executive officer of Inter-Con Security Systems Inc.; on the board of McDonald's Corporation, Nordstrom Inc. and Wells Fargo & Company. * Betsy D. Holden: President of global marketing and category development at Kraft Foods, Inc. from January 2004 through June 2005; co-CEO at Kraft from 2001 to 2003; president and CEO of Kraft Foods North America from 2000 to 2003; on the board of directors for Kraft Foods and Tupperware Corporation; on the Advisory Board of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and serves on the boards of the Grocery Manufacturers of America and Evanston Northwestern Healthcare. * Robert S. Morrison: Retired vice chairman of PepsiCo, Inc.; retired chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Quaker Oats Company; from 1994 to 1997 served as chief executive officer of Kraft, Inc.; serves as a director of Aon Corporation, 3M Company, Illinois Tool Works, Inc., the Economic Club of Chicago and the Grocery Manufacturers of America. * William A. Osborn: Chairman and chief executive officer and a director of Northern Trust Corporation and its principal subsidiary, The Northern Trust Company; a director of Caterpillar, Inc., Nicor, Inc. and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. In sum, while owning 26 major-market television stations that reach 80 percent of U.S. television households, and newspapers that are read by 9.3 million people on weekdays and 12.5 million on Sundays, the Tribune Company also has board members who work (in various capacities) for McDonald's, PepsiCo, Kraft, 3M, Nordstrom, Wells Fargo, Quaker Oats, and the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA). The GMA, by the way, is the lobbying arm of the retail food industry (motto: "The Power of Brands"). So, journalists such as Marx are worried about the influence of people such as Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and other pony-tailed Latin American lefties on the news services of Telesur? This would be a noble sentiment were it not for the fact that Marx and other U.S. journalists daily ignore the fact that they work for horizontally- and vertically-integrated mega-companies whose board members are made up of individuals representing industries that provide the bulk of the advertising revenue for companies such as Tribune. Do I think that Hugo Chavez is the ultimate champion of free speech and objective journalism? No. Do I think that Fidel Castro orchestrates ideologically-driven propaganda campaigns? Yes. Do politicians and business leaders use the media to their own, anti-democratic ends? Only an idiot would argue otherwise. The problem is, when we frame discussions on Latin American media in terms of possible "left-wing bias" and conflicts of interest, we deflect attention from the fact that our own non-left-wing media are a far cry from paragons of "balance" and "objectivity." For some reason, journalists do not equate political interference (a la Castro in Cuba) with corporate interference (a la McDonald's and Kraft in the U.S.), as if the latter were an acceptable price to pay for living in a free-market economy. It is not. I wouldn't want Hugo Chavez to interfere with my news any more than I want a representative of PepsiCo on the board of one of the largest news corporations in the U.S. If we are really worried about issues of "truth" in journalism, let's start with uncovering some home truths...as dirty and unpleasant as they may be. Christian Christensen is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Communication at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, Turkey. He can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- This is ZESTGlobal. Post articles on international affairs to [email protected] If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTGlobal by sending a blank mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! 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