Mass media in Venezuela

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Venezuela

Mass media in Venezuela comprise the mass and niche news and information communications infrastructure of Venezuela. Thus, the media of Venezuela consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, cinema, and Internet-based news outlets and websites. Venezuela also has a strong music industry and arts scene.

Since 2003, Freedom House has ranked Venezuela as "not free" when it comes to press freedom.[1] Freedom House explained that Venezuela's freedom of the press had declined during Hugo Chávez's 15 years in power, stating that the Venezuelan government's relation to the media caused a sharp decline in press freedom and expanded government information apparatus.[2]

Due to censorship in Venezuela, social networking and other methods are important ways of communication for the Venezuelan people,[3][4] with social media being established as an alternative means of information to mainstream media. Venezuela now has the 4th highest percentage of Twitter users.[5]

  1. ^ "FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 2003" (PDF). Freedom House. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  2. ^ "Venezuela" (PDF). Report. Freedom House. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  3. ^ Minaya, Ezequiel (7 September 2014). "Venezuela's Press Crackdown Stokes Growth of Online Media". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  4. ^ "For Many in Venezuela, Social Media Is A Matter of Life And Death". NPR. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Twitter Usage Statistics: Which Country Has The Most Active Twitter Population?". International Business Times. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2022.