Why is Venezuela ranked in the 133rd position in the 2010 World Press Freedom Index?

 Of the 178 countries ranked in the 2010 World Press Freedom Index Venezuela was situated in 133rd place, plunging nine places compared to the 124th place it occupied in 2009. The reasons for this decline are numerous. The major issue is of the State’s monopoly of the audio-visual terrestrial broadcast network, which determines many of the obstacles faced by the media and the journalists, especially those who continue to critique against President Chávez’s Government.

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State-controlled media in Venezuela: a worrying trend

President Hugo Chavez has stated that the Venezuelan government is to take a stake in the main opposition television channel, Globovision. The government has recently taken over two companies, between them owning 25.8% of Globovision shares, which Chavez wants to transfer into the hands of the state. This would entitle the government to appoint a member of the board of directors of one of its most critical opponents, and the president has already nominated two staunchly pro-Chavez journalists for that position. Last month an arrest warrant was issued against the president of the network, Guillermo Zuloaga, who has now fled to the USA with a view to obtaining political asylum, and has approached the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for help. It is alleged the Globovision has long been in Chavez’s sights.