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[[Reporters Without Borders]] had questioned the evidence against Múñoz and called his imprisonment an "outrage" and an "abuse", arguing that the Colombian government could be acting against press freedom if the journalist had been jailed due to his work or because of past teleSUR interviews with Colombian guerrillas. The Inter American Press Association also criticized his detention and asked for the respect of due process.<ref>[http://www.sipiapa.org/espanol/pressreleases/srchphrasedetail.cfm?PressReleaseID=1800 "Por la libertad de prensa en Colombia"], [http://www.sipiapa.org Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa], [[Miami]], [[Florida|FL]], [[November 21]] [[2006]] {{es icon}} (Retrieved on [[February 2]], [[2009]])</ref><ref>[http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19803 ''Comunicados de Reporteros sin Fronteras sobre situación del periodista Fredy Muñoz''], [http://www.rsf.org Reportes sans frontières], [[2006]]-[[2007]] {{es icon}} (Retrieved on [[February 2]], [[2009]])</ref>
[[Reporters Without Borders]] had questioned the evidence against Múñoz and called his imprisonment an "outrage" and an "abuse", arguing that the Colombian government could be acting against press freedom if the journalist had been jailed due to his work or because of past teleSUR interviews with Colombian guerrillas. The Inter American Press Association also criticized his detention and asked for the respect of due process.<ref>[http://www.sipiapa.org/espanol/pressreleases/srchphrasedetail.cfm?PressReleaseID=1800 "Por la libertad de prensa en Colombia"], [http://www.sipiapa.org Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa], [[Miami]], [[Florida|FL]], [[November 21]] [[2006]] {{es icon}} (Retrieved on [[February 2]], [[2009]])</ref><ref>[http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19803 ''Comunicados de Reporteros sin Fronteras sobre situación del periodista Fredy Muñoz''], [http://www.rsf.org Reportes sans frontières], [[2006]]-[[2007]] {{es icon}} (Retrieved on [[February 2]], [[2009]])</ref>


{{Current|date=June 2009}}
====Honduras====
====Honduras====
=====Detention of Adriana Sívori during political unrest=====
=====Detention of Adriana Sívori during political unrest=====

Revision as of 08:45, 30 June 2009

Not to be confused with Canal Sur.
La Nueva Televisora del Sur
HeadquartersCaracas, Venezuela
Programming
Language(s)Spanish, Portuguese (for Brazil[1])
Ownership
OwnerLa Nueva Televisora del Sur, a public company sponsored by:
 Argentina
 Bolivia
 Cuba
 Ecuador
 Nicaragua
 Uruguay
 Venezuela

La Nueva Televisora del Sur (teleSUR, English: The New Television Station of the South) is a pan-Latin American terrestrial and satellite television network headquartered in Caracas, Venezuela. teleSUR is intended to be an instrument toward the "concretizing of the Bolivarian idea" through the integration of Latin America, and as a counterweight to what the governments that funds it consider a "distorted view of Latin American reality by privately run networks that broadcast to the region" [3] such as CNN and Univisión, and public ones such as the BBC, TVE and Deutsche Welle.

Legal status, funding and structure

  Latin American countries sponsoring teleSUR

La Nueva Televisora del Sur, C.A. is, according to its website a public company which has Latin American governments as its sponsors. Its sponsors are the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Venezuela. The channel's news agenda is dictated by its Board of Directors with the aid of an advisory council, which is formed by many international and regional leftist intellectuals, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, poet Ernesto Cardenal, writers Eduardo Galeano, Tariq Ali, Saul Landau, editor-in-chief of Le Monde diplomatique and historian Ignacio Ramonet, Argentine film producer Tristán Bauer, free software pioneer Richard Stallman and US actor and activist Danny Glover. The network carries no commercial advertising.

History

Origins and US reaction

The proposed alternative Latin American television network that we know today as teleSUR took shape on January 24 2005 as part of the projects approved in a council of ministers of the Venezuelan government [4].

teleSUR began broadcasting on a limited four hour schedule on July 24 2005, on the 222nd birthday of Latin American leader Simón Bolívar. A few hours later that day, Richard Lugar, then chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations began a "game of warnings and threats" against the new channel. [5] The network began full-time broadcasts on October 31 2005. Just three days before the network began broadcasting, the United States House of Representatives included an amendment to Resolution 2601 introduced by Connie Mack IV, a Republican from Florida's 14th congressional district, which tentatively authorized "to fund activities which support political parties, the rule of law, civil society, an independent media, and otherwise promote democratic, accountable governance in Venezuela" [6][7] The Venezuelan government replied the U.S. reaction through its ambassador in Washington, D.C., Bernardo Álvarez saying that "in Venezuela there are 48 channels of free access to anyone with a television set and a small antenna. Only two of them belong to the government. You can also receive more than 120 channels from four continents." [8]

Incorporation process of the sponsor countries

Uruguay

The process of integration of Uruguay to teleSUR was long and controversial. Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez signed on March 3 2005 several agreements with then-recently installed Uruguayan president Tabaré Vázquez regarding the energetic and communicational integration of both countries, being one of them the joint creation and financing of teleSUR. After just under a year of signing the agreements, they had not been carried out, although the party of President Vázquez was a majority in the country's legislative branch. Venezuelan journalist Andrés Izarra, president of teleSUR, confirmed in an interview in January 2006 the delay in the approval of the full incorporation of the country to the network: "There is a special situation [in Uruguay), because although the country is a member of Telesur, until their Congress does not approve it, we can't broadcast the channel locally or receive government funding. The situation requires a political decision and we hope that the government of Tabaré Vázquez support the initiative".[9] The president of the Uruguayan Deputies' Education Commission, Jorge Brovetto confirmed in February of that year the country still wasn't part of the network's sponsors and asked that, until the parliament has not decided on a final status, the removal of the country's name as sponsor from its promotions and the website.[10] In June of that year, and as the nation's Minister of Education and Culture, Brovetto expressed worries regarding the network's editorial line on certain issues and governments in the region, and how the diplomacy of his country could be affected by it.[11] Uruguay's Chamber of Senators approved the bill that would ratify the agreements on August 8 2006 by votes of the legislators belonging to ruling party, but the Chamber of Deputies postponed several times the debate on the draft.[12] Although sources close to the Congress told the press in February 2009 that the issue of incorporation to teleSUR "was not a priority item in their agenda", and that the issue would not be discussed during the remainder of that year[13], the agreement was finally ratified on June 2 2009.[14]

Controversies and criticism

Editorial and news coverage

teleSUR is considered by opponents to the leftist political parties and governments as a tool to spread "marxist-leninist" ideology throughout Latin America. The channel's news coverage focuses mostly on the countries participating in its financing, giving particular emphasis to the countries' presidents and the social and political progresses their governments carry out and when covering news about Latin American countries with pro-US governments like México, Colombia and Peru, they do so in a highly critical way.

Cooperation agreements and comparisons with other networks

Al-Jazeera

teleSUR and the Qatar-based Arabic news channel Al-Jazeera signed agreements on exchange of audiovisual content and support coverage in February 2006, after several months of negotiations[15], a move that was harshly criticized by Congressman Connie Mack IV, who had spoken out against the broadcasts of the channel in the past. “When Hugo Chávez launched Telesur last year to spread his anti-freedom rhetoric throughout Latin America I raised numerous concerns that he was creating a TV network patterned after Al-Jazeera. Today, Hugo Chavez has gone even further. It wasn’t enough for him to spread his Socialist propaganda throughout Latin America. Now he’s in cahoots with the original terrorist TV", Mack said in his United States House of Representatives website.[16] teleSUR's then-station manager, Uruguayan Aram Arahonian said in reaction to Mack's remarks that "we continue to believe in democracy, freedom of expression, and pluralism: all the values that are indispensable in any democracy. We don't have any problem making agreements with any organisation that is beneficial for our channel."[17] It should be noted that teleSUR and the BBC also made similar agreements in October of that year, and those weren't criticized in any way.[18][19] The channel also shares content with the Iranian IRIB through agreements signed between the governments of Venezuela and Iran in 2004[20] and signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the network and China's CCTV on September 24 2008[21] and a full cooperation agreement in February 19 2009.[22] Those agreements were not criticized by any U.S. government official.

Detentions and threats to journalists

Several teleSUR journalists have been threatened because of their journalistic work.

Argentina

TeleSUR correspondent in Argentina, Edgardo Esteban was awakened the morning on September 11, 2008 by the detonation of a homemade bomb of low intensity in front of his home.[23] The journalist had received several threats because of his journalistic work on tortures and corruption of Argentine military during the Falklands War. The Latin American Federation of Journalists [24], the Forum of Argentine Journalism[25] and the Inter American Press Association[26] expressed its rejection to any situations that put at risk the life of the journalist and demanded from the national and provincial authorities to work "so that intimidation against journalists will not happen again". Esteban expressed concern for his life and his family after the attack.

Colombia

Several teleSUR journalists have been criticized, threatened to get involved or have been involved in legal processes or have had their lives threatened by that nation's paramilitary groups. Some of them have been accused of being members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) or being otherwise connected to the guerrilla group, which has been considered as terrorist by Colombia, the U.S. and the European Union. The editorial line of the channel treats the group as a "belligerent force" and as a valid Bolivarian political organization, in accordance to the Foro de São Paulo and its main financiers, Cuba and Venezuela.

Detention of Fredy Muñoz Altamiranda
File:Fredy-Muñoz-Colombian-journalist.jpg
Fredy Muñoz Altamiranda working as teleSUR's correspondent in Colombia

In late 2006, the then correspondent of teleSUR in the country, Fredy Muñoz Altamiranda, was arrested on November 19 on charges of rebellion and terrorism. The journalist was accused of being "Jorge Eliécer", a leader of the FARC guerrilla group held responsible for various terrorist attacks. The prosecution cited the testimonies of jailed guerrillas against the journalist. Múñoz's defense argued that the testimonies which implicated him were inconsistent and denounced procedural irregularities after the moment of his arrest. One of the jailed guerrillas claimed that "Jorge Eliécer" suffered several burns on his body due to an accidental bomb explosion. According to teleSUR, the journalist was subjected to physical analysis which determined that there were no injuries in his body matching those described by the witness and another guerrilla later stated he had being pressured to declare against Múñoz by members of the Colombian Navy's intelligence branch.[27]

Múñoz was released on January 10 2007, after which he declared that "when I left the prison, less than an hour after leaving, two agents visited the jail and asked in an aggressive manner to officials of the prison where I was going to [and] what was my itinerary after leaving prison."[28] Muñoz Altamiranda said that he feared for his life after being released due to subsequent threats.[29] Reporters Without Borders had questioned the evidence against Múñoz and called his imprisonment an "outrage" and an "abuse", arguing that the Colombian government could be acting against press freedom if the journalist had been jailed due to his work or because of past teleSUR interviews with Colombian guerrillas. The Inter American Press Association also criticized his detention and asked for the respect of due process.[30][31]

Honduras

Detention of Adriana Sívori during political unrest

On 29 June 2009, teleSUR journalist Adriana Sívori, who was in Honduras reporting the effects of the political crisis that emerged after the overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya was arrested by the military under threat, and retained her passport.

After the quick intervention of the Venezuelan ambassador in Honduras, the journalist and the staff who accompanied her were released. Sívori was reportedly assaulted by the soldiers who detained her.

TeleSUR is the only channel that has broadcast live all occurrences of the political crisis following the kidnapping and deportation of President Manuel Zelaya of the country. In Honduras the state media was removed from the air and the local private media are transmitting regular programming. [32]

Distribution

teleSUR is available free-to-air via satellite to Latin America, the United States, Western Europe and Northern Africa. The network's availability through cable television have been very limited in Latin America because of the network's edtorial approach to several events and governments in the region; the station manager in 2007, Aram Arahonian said in an interview that "cable owners do not provide us with any access [...] it's not frequent, but it has affected us in the large countries. For example, in México there are half monopolies, Televisa and Televisión Azteca. In Argentina, almost everything is dominated by the Clarin group. In Brazil cable is very scarce, there are 3.5 million subscribers and 80 million people so it's quite marginal." [2]

The availability of the channel via terrestrial television is very limited in the vast majority of Latin American countries; the only one in the region that receives all teleSUR's broadcasts via terrestrial television is Venezuela, which government is its main funder. The rest of the sponsor countries broadcast some of the networks' programs, mainly the news, in their public and educational channels (see list of sister channels).[33] The network started in February 2008 to broadcast some news programming to Brazil in Portuguese through several community stations in the state of Paraná.[1]

teleSUR's broadcasts in Cuba

Although teleSUR has Cuba as one of its main funders and suppliers of programming, the channel is not completely available for the citizens of the island. It was not until late 2007 that its programming is broadcasted daily in the island, but only from 10:30 pm until 8:00 am and through Canal Educativo 2, a educational TV channel of limited national coverage. [34] Some of teleSUR's programming is broadcast in Cuba during the day on that channel but as a one-hour, highly-edited mix of its news and documentary programs titled 'Lo mejor de teleSUR' (The Best of teleSUR).[35] and, depending on the topic in the program, Mesa Redonda Internacional, a news and opinion program that's produced for teleSUR by the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television. According to the Swedish analyst Nathan Shachar, in this way, the Cuban government censors any information that is not to the liking of its "political system" [36], which includes "free elections, multiparty, strikes and protest movements that are non-existant on the island". [37][38]

Programming

File:TeleSUR newsident.jpg
The current (August 2008) news ident
File:Clarise Arduz teleSUR news presenter.jpg
News presenter, Brazilian Clarise Arduz

teleSUR's programming is defined by a 'Strategic Programming Committee'[4], and is based mostly of documentaries and news-related content. Some of its programs are:

  • América, Tierra Nuestra': Documentaries about Latin American culture and folklore.
  • CineSur: Latin American independent cinema.
  • Contravía: Documentary program about social and political situation in Colombia, hosted by journalist Hollman Morris.
  • Dossier: A international news program hosted by Uruguayan journalist Walter Martínez. This program is also broadcast on Venezuelan State TV.
  • Destino Latinoamérica: A series of programs about Latin American tourist destinations.
  • En vivo desde el SUR ('Live from the South'): Live individual interviews related to the most important news of the day, hosted by Colombian journalist Patricia Villegas on weekdays at night.
  • Impacto Económico ('Economic Impact'): Program which analyze Latin American economy, focusing on showing how the free market do not solve the fundamental problems of the poor in the region and offers insights on how these problems could be resolved.
  • Maestra Vida: Biographies of Latin American personalities.
  • Memorias del Fuego: Documentary program which broadcasts independent documentaries about contemporary Latin America.
  • Mesa Redonda Internacional – Political and social analysis program, broadcast on Thursday nights, live from Havana, Cuba.
  • Noticias desde el SUR ('News from the South'): Latin American news from the network's headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela with 10 correspondents and collaborators in several countries throughout the region.
  • Sones y Pasiones: Documentary program about Latin American music and its performers.
  • Videoteca contracorriente: Interviews with conteporary Latin American leaders and personalities, developed with a critical and progressive view.

Cancelled programs

  • Resumen 'Aló Presidente': An abridged version of the program hosted by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez in Venezuelan State TV.
  • Agenda del Sur: Live morning news and talk show.
  • Visión 7 Internacional: International news and analysis broadcast Saturdays live from Buenos Aires on Argentina's Canal 7. This program was also simulcasted on teleSUR.
  • Mediotanque: A program about culture and folklore of Uruguay, produced by hachaytiza
  • De este lado: Political and social analysis program produced in México and hosted by journalist Blanche Petrich.

References

  1. ^ a b "Telesur abre señal en portugués para Brasil" Ministry of Information and Communication of Venezuela, January 24 2005 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on January 18 2009)
  2. ^ a b "Interview with Aram Arahonian, teleSUR Director: “We’re not Anti-U.S.”" Venezuela Analysis (Retrieved on February 6 2009)
  3. ^ "Latin leader rebels against US-centric news" – Christian Science Monitor (Retrieved on January 8 2009)
  4. ^ a b "Aprobada creación de la Televisora del Sur, C.A." Ministry of Information and Communication of Venezuela, January 24 2005 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on January 16 2009)
  5. ^ "Ataques a teleSUR" teleSUR Template:Es icon (Retrieved on January 21 2009)
  6. ^ "Congressman works to counter socialist air time" Connie Mack's HOR website, July 21, 2005 (Retrieved on January 21 2009)
  7. ^ House Bill H.R.2601 (Entire legislation to which Connie Mack's amendment was introduced) The Library of Congress (Retrieved on January 18 2009)
  8. ^ "¿TV Martí para Venezuela?" BBC Mundo Template:Es icon (Retrieved on January 18 2009)
  9. ^ "Entrevista al presidente de Telesur, Andrés Izarra" NuestraAmérica.info, January 20 2006 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on January 18 2009)
  10. ^ "El Parlamento discutió la integración del país a TeleSur y la situación del Canal 5" Diario La República, February 16 2006 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on January 18 2009)
  11. ^ "Brovetto: En Telesur "Uruguay es responsable de lo que produce y participa", pero no de la eventual línea editorial" Diario La República, June 30 2006 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on February 9 2009)
  12. ^ "Diputados aplazó votación sobre la Red Telesur" Diario La República, May 14 2008 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on January 18 2009)
  13. ^ "Uruguay no se integrará este año a directiva de Telesur" Aporrea.org, February 24 2009 (Retrieved on February 27 2009)
  14. ^ "Uruguay se integra a la multiestatal teleSUR" teleSUR, June 2 2009 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on June 2 2009)
  15. ^ "Telesur keen on Aljazeera link up" Al-Jazeera English, July 28 2005 (Retrieved on January 21 2009)
  16. ^ "Mack: New Alliance Between Chavez’s Telesur and Al-Jazeera Creates Global Terror TV Network" Connie Mack's HOR website, February 1, 2006 (Retrieved on January 21 2009)
  17. ^ "Venezuela defends Al-Jazeera tie-up" Al-Jazeera English (Retrieved on January 21 2009)
  18. ^ "teleSUR y BBC firman acuerdo para intercambiar contenidos teleSUR, October 30 2006 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on January 21 2009)
  19. ^ "Acuerdo de la BBC con Telesur" BBC Mundo, October 31 2006 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on February 6 2009)
  20. ^ "Ministerio de comunicación venezolano acuerda alianza con televisora de Irán" Ministry of Communication and Information of Venezuela, November 29 2004 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on February 14 2009)
  21. ^ "China y Venezuela suscriben 26 acuerdos que incluyen ampliación de Fondo Pesado" Ministry of Communication and Information of Venezuela, September 24 2008 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on February 14 2009)
  22. ^ "Venezuela fortalece vínculos estratégicos con China" teleSUR, February 19 2009 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on February 19 2009)
  23. ^ "Lanzan artefacto explosivo contra vivivienda de corresponsal de TeleSUR en Argentina, TeleSURtv.net, September 11 2008 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on June 7 2009)
  24. ^ "Atentado contra el corresponsal de Telesur: bomba estalló en la puerta de su domicilio" Federación Latinoamericana de Periodistas, September 13 2008 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on June 7 2009)
  25. ^ "Agresión al domicilio del periodista Edgardo Esteban", Foro de Periodismo Argentino, September 11 2008 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on June 7 2009)
  26. ^ "La SIP repudió y reclamó por los ataques recientes contra periodistas argentinos" Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa, Miami, FL, September 17 2008 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on June 7 2009)
  27. ^ "Injustamente detenido, corresponsal de TeleSUR recibe 2007 en cárcel colombiana", TeleSURtv.net, December 31, 2006 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on February 7, 2009)
  28. ^ "Corresponsal de TeleSUR califica como un triunfo su salida de la cárcel", TeleSURtv.net Template:Es icon (Retrieved on January 29, 2009)
  29. ^ "Fredy Muñoz Altamiranda denuncia su situación ante la campaña de acoso del Gobierno colombiano", Derechos Human Rights, February 13 2007 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on January 29, 2009)
  30. ^ "Por la libertad de prensa en Colombia", Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa, Miami, FL, November 21 2006 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on February 2, 2009)
  31. ^ Comunicados de Reporteros sin Fronteras sobre situación del periodista Fredy Muñoz, Reportes sans frontières, 2006-2007 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on February 2, 2009)
  32. ^ "Liberan a equipo periodístico de teleSUR detenido por la fuerza en Honduras, teleSURtv.net, June 29 2009 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on June 29 2009)
  33. ^ “The Boom in Counter-Hegemonic News Channels: A Case Study of Telesur., by James Painter, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford, published 2007 (Retrieved in January 24 2009)
  34. ^ "TeleSUR amplía su alcance para llegar a Ecuador, Nicaragua y Europa" Ministry of Information and Communication of Venezuela, October 9 2007 Template:Es icon (Retrieved on June 11 2009)
  35. ^ Programación Canal Educativo 2 Juventud Rebelde Template:Es icon (Retrieved on January 11 2009)
  36. ^ "Telesur: ¿Censurada en Cuba?" CubaNet Template:Es icon (Retrieved on January 8 2009)
  37. ^ "Radikal tv-kanal får kritik" Dagens Nyheter, August 5 2005 Template:Sv icon (Retrieved on March 4 2009)
  38. ^ "Por qué Fidel Castro censura a Telesur" HarryMagazine.com Template:Es icon (Retrieved on January 8 2009)

External links

Wikinews has related news:

Template:International news channels

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