"No More Media Manipulation": Historic Statement by Venezuela Media Workers

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

June 11, 2002

"It was made abundantly clear from the disastrous image of those days 
of disinformation, in which the majority of employees, reporters and 
journalists put our lives on the line only for media owners and board 
members to decide not to publish anything and hide from the public 
the serious events that were taking place in the streets, while 
mainstream TV channels aired old movies as if nothing was happening. 
We all must assume those days of confusion, tensions, interests, and 
mistakes with courage and rectify with deep sincerity. No more 
manipulation. We workers say firmly and responsibly that we will not 
accept such behavior again."

- Venezuelan Media Workers Statement
Caracas, June 10, 2002

Narco News '02

"No More Media Manipulation"
Historic Statement by Venezuela Media Workers

Publisher's Note: The Trade Union at Venezuela's largest newspaper, 
El Nacional, released this historic statement yesterday through its 
Executive Council, serving warning to the Media owners that "we will 
no longer allow ourselves to be used" in the ways that occurred 
during the attempted coup d'etat last April in Venezuela. To my 
knowledge, this is the first time anywhere in the capitalist world 
that media workers have risen up so coherently against the simulators 
of the mass media. It also serves as concrete evidence, as we begin 
Immedia Summer 2002, that the revolution against Media is alive and 
well (a fact that, understandably, may not be evident yet to many 
within the United States and the developed world, because it comes 
from below, and from the outside in). We await further instructions 
from headquarters. The union can be contacted at 
sitranac at el-nacional.com. Special thanks to our colleagues at 
Vheadline.com for the rapid translation of this document.

No more manipulation and confrontation

The El Nacional newspaper company has censored this communiqué and 
its workers have taken it upon themselves to let people know where 
the union stands.

Society is currently facing a crisis based on hatred and 
manipulation, imposed on us at will by leaders and organizations, a 
situation, which little by little, has led us to confrontations and 
intolerance on all levels and which could end in even greater ills.

As representative of the workers of the country's most important 
print media, our trade union feels a deep responsibility vis-a-vis 
all the recent events and we think it important to announce that we 
will no longer allow ourselves to be used as a political flag or as 
an instrument of confrontation.

We want to make it clear that we do not agree nor will we agree with 
aggressive political marches, work stoppages and strikes for 
political purposes.

We do not approve of distorted and intolerant news slants and are not 
prepared to accept misnomered leaders and organizations that 
allegedly represent, guide and manipulate us with their stoppages and 
strikes when on repeated occasions they have denied workers the 
legitimate right to strike for labor benefits and failed to react to 
dismissals of workers exercising the right to free union activity and 
collective bargaining discussions to improve labor conditions.

No more manipulation of media sector workers making us responsible 
for editorial lines. Media owners must accept that they are a force 
in society and for that reason have a social responsibility, not only 
to the workforce but also to Venezuelan society. They must 
understandand accept that their workers are doing our job and not 
working for a political project. If companies or media owners support 
or prefer one of the poles or groups disputing political power in 
Venezuela, we demand that they make it clear that it is the 
employer's and not the worker's position.

Print and broadcast media owners and board members: please assume 
your responsibility and use your power in a positive manner to create 
currents of opinion, behaviors and attitudes in society in general. 
If you really want dialogue and rectification, take a leading role to 
benefit everyone and intervene correctly towards achieving social 
peace.

Print & broadcast workers: we raise our voice as a right to be heard 
and to let people know what we really feel. We are responsible for 
what happens like every other Venezuelan. We must take a stand. We 
are the real majority whose support those so called leaders falsely 
claim. They have brought us to this confrontation. The real majority 
in the country just wants peace, no work stoppages, no war, and no 
coup d'etats.

We want to work.

That is the real majority and we media workers play an important role 
in channeling this sincere and optimistic message.

No more manipulations and confrontation.

We propose that the media's social commitment, journalist ethics, 
work relationships and work contract obligations imposed on 
journalists become topics for debate between company and workers to 
reach harmony in media circles and society in general, a debate which 
must be undertaken free of the heat of political militancy.

We must really be convinced that our individual and collective future 
is at stake and that each individual and organization must assume a 
quota of reflection to act positively.

We will not allow ourselves to be manipulated again.

We will not allow ourselves to used as an image of lies to propagate 
disinformation.

No more.

It was made abundantly clear from the disastrous image of those days 
of disinformation, in which the majority of employees, reporters and 
journalists put our lives on the line only for media owners and board 
members to decide not to publish anything and hide from the public 
the serious events that were taking place in the streets, while 
mainstream TV channels aired old movies as if nothing was happening.

We all must assume those days of confusion, tensions, interests, and 
mistakes with courage and rectify with deep sincerity. No more 
manipulation. We workers say firmly and responsibly that we will not 
accept such behavior again.

We are all responsible for what happened in April, responsible for 
not wanting to dialogue, for not being tolerant, and for not allowing 
all the voices of a pluralistic Nation access to microphones, cameras 
and tape recorders. We are all responsible for passively accepting 
editorial lines, even when they curtailed the right to truthful 
information. There can be no dialogue and conciliation in the 
country, as long as the media continue to stimulate confrontation in 
society. Instead of excuses, inflating and deflating situations, all 
of us must take on a serious dialogue that allows us to come closer 
and that creates consensus in which different and obvious positions 
in society will be respected, a dialogue based on democracy and not 
coup d'etats, conspiracies and confrontations.

Commitment and responsibility must start now and we must all 
participate in pacific and sincere change.

<http://www.narconews.com/venezuelamedia1.html>
-- 
Yoshie

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