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By María Mercedes Cobo and Emilce Chacón, Caracas; Translated from
Spanish for Axis of Logic by Iris Buehler and revised by James
Hollander, Tlaxcala*
Venezuela's new model of communications media is the path to follow for the Americas
 Introduction: Fernando
Buen Abad Domínguez, PhD, is a degree-holder in Communication Science
and has a Master's degree in Political Philosophy. Currently he is
vice-president of the Open University of Mexico (Universidad Abierta of
Mexico), the country where he was born in December 1956. He is the
author of "Communication Philosophy" (Filosofía de la Comunicación),
which was published by the Venezuelan Ministry of Communication and
Information and presented to the general public in Caracas past June
23, 2006. We have taken the opportunity of his visit to Venezuela to
gain insights from his academically-informed understanding of new media
experiences in the framework of the revolutionary process being under
way in Venezuela. (See more about Dr. Dominguez from Aljazeera at the end of this article).
MMC/EC: What is your opinion of the behavior of the mass media in Venezuela?
Dr. Domínguez:
From a worldwide analytical perspective, Venezuela does represent a
special case. Together with the Mexican Institute of Image Research
(I.R.I.) we've made a series of analyses of the changes taking place in
Venezuela. We observed that this country is the product of a great
phenomena of communication.
The events of April 2002 (1),
when an entire people took to the streets and millions of people
managed within just a few hours to organize themselves in favor of a
revolutionary transformation process, are a real watershed. We still do
not know for certain how this occurred, people informing one another,
they call it "Radio bemba" here in Venezuela, a popular tool of
communication just kept growing and it eventually snowballed.
Motorbikes became the lifeblood of the process, people went up and down
by motorbikes spreading essential information. It's a great
communication experience that we need to study.
We need to
learn what the Venezuelan people put into practice in the streets that
day to organize themselves, to tell the President, the coup plotters,
and the world what path the country has chosen, against the most
authoritarian and most despicable forms of treason committed against a
people.
For us, it's important to know that apart from the many
things this transformation process is representing in Venezuela, a
transformation of communication itself is taking place, but that's not
all: we also note that against everything the privately owned mass
media -- using slander and insults -- had done and said, the Venezuelan
people did manage to resist intellectually, they did not fall into the
trap in spite of the fact that 90% of the country's radio and TV
broadcasting spectrum and the majority of the mass media are privately
owned. In spite of all this, they were unable to defeat the emotional
strength, the culture, the tradition and the free will of the
Venezuelan people. We think this is what has to be studied in terms of
a social phenomenon of mass communication. It's unprecedented in human
history! And we had never seen, ‘til then, a president return to power
after a coup d'état, and the people come together so quickly to achieve
this.
MMC/EC: Is Venezuela throwing monopoly media power off balance in both Venezuela and on the continent as a whole?
Dr. Domínguez: I
would say that Venezuela is beginning to do so. I think the country is
starting to feel that need every day more and more; Venezuela is
reaching the conclusion that one cannot have an indulgent attitude
towards media powers that are in the habit of lying, because this would
mean tolerating a permanent process of criminal offense using the
communications media.
I don't even think it's the state that
needs to intervene, but there should exist something like juries,
people's courts with conscious specialists participating at the side of
the people and helping them understand that it's no laughing matter if
a someone on morning television happens to shout at his guests, shaking
his fist in their faces, but that it's an act of disrespect towards the
free will of the people, towards the personality of a President who is
a Latin American and world leader. We are aware of the fact that the
ongoing process is a gradual one and that there's still a long way left
to go.
The role of communities
MMC/EC: In
your writings you state that a type of communication that is different
from the one we are accustomed to needs to be built; this is quite a
complex issue. Based on your own academic and personal experience, how
could we advance in the building a communications model that is
coherent with the revolutionary process?
Dr. Domínguez: One
way to change the discourse is to change the actors in the discourse.
One good way would be to ensure that it is not always the same people
always saying the same things. What I mean by discourse isn't the
words, but rather the media-generic sense, the aesthetic discourse, the
kind of camera angles, the type of music, the modulation of voice,
where some newscasters on commercial television speak in precisely the
same way, one after the other, making vocal inflexions, exaggerations,
accents, modes of speech, modernizations of the tone of voice.
In
my opinion, by changing this kind of discourse we are already starting
to think of other alternatives, because instead of having
intermediaries explaining to us what reality is, we allow reality to
speak for itself. In the Mexican media, what they do is to interpret
for us what another person said; they are in a factory with workers,
with the peasants, with the social organizations, and the reporter
tells us they're saying this and that and goodness knows what else. The
atmosphere is tense, they never allow the people themselves to say what
why they have come, what they are doing, what they want to say, what
they are thinking, what they are feeling, what's disturbing them, what
concerns them, what inspires them, what enthuses them. We never find
out! They're shown as some kind of decoration, as a background prop;
this is nothing new, it's the format that is being applied on a global
scale, and it can be transformed.
Communities themselves can
now grab hold of the microphone. And the cameras too, let's hope they
learn how. Because taking the microphone isn't enough, there are
numerous elements and conditions to be taken in consideration so as to
achieve a fairly sensible, orderly handling of the means of
communication; it's not easy, it's a vocation that needs its due time,
time to mature, that demands a learning process like with any other new
set of tools.
Communities can start to find their own
languages, with their own accent, their own emphasis, their own
priorities and their own interests. We're not used to watching this
kind of television, we are not accustomed to listening to this kind of
radio, we are not used to reading this new press, we are learning anew.
We have not yet seen the best kind of communication, up till now we've
seen commercialized communication, which has turned time into a
commodity, turned women into a commodity, turned the family into a
commodity, the kind of television that turns the entire world into an
object of consumerism. As soon as we can to surpass all this
conceptually, philosophically and poetically, the moment we take this
qualitative leap and raise the quality of the discourse and the
narrative quality then we'll see another type of television, a
different type of journalism. We'll need to learn new principles,
including narrative ones.
MMC/EC: The mass
media can serve as an instrument of peace; they also can be employed as
a tool to fan the flames of confrontation as in Venezuela in April 2002
during the coup d'état: they called government supporters "Chavista
hordes" and those who supported the opposition the "civil society in
struggle ".(2) What is your interpretation of this handling of the news?
Dr. Domínguez: I
think that's a disloyal use of communication. A use which is not
faithful to what the people themselves are saying. You can't have that
sort of chicanery in the mass media! If we look around and see how
people who have been excluded for decades are now developing both
individually and collectively, because they are living in a country
that is engaged in a process of transformation aimed at improving the
quality of life of each one of its inhabitants, then there is nothing
else to do but to support this and take the side of human progress.
Nobody
must obstruct the development of a society, and if someone does so with
the help of a means of communication, then it is even worse. I think
that sort of thing is absolutely malicious, I think this should be
discussed in terms of a lack of ethics, as a lack of human solidarity.
The truth is that Venezuela, for years now, has set a good example to
many countries in diplomatic tact, even though some countries, like
Mexico, have been utterly rude. We are also dealing with a problem
that's political and ideological in nature; this country is waging a
fantastic battle, that is, the battle of ideas, where people are
becoming aware of their right to think freely, and hardly anyone likes
that.
Coming back the mass media, you have an immense
challenge because in addition you have a President who is an
exceptional talent when it comes to communication. President Chávez is
a rebel in every respect, I wrote some articles about this, on the
program Aló Presidente ("Hello Mr. President") (3). The program has
become the most impressive school of political education ever seen on a
worldwide scale, here's an instance of powerful communication. Through
this program many people have learned to analyze international oil
problems, become acquainted with the nation's economic structure,
amongst other important issues.
MMC/EC: Is the program Aló Presidente communication for social development?
Dr. Domínguez: Without
a doubt. It goes without saying that this does not suffice, because if
we stick exclusively to this form of communication, then we would
saturate the audience with a single source. Therefore, we would propose
"Hello Communities", "Hello Workers", "Hello Students" and "Hello
Peasants," so there would be discursive and narrative vigor.
MMC/EC: In
your opinion, what sort of communications strategy would be coherent
with the transformation process we are living in Venezuela?
Dr. Domínguez: Before
replying directly to your question I'd like to mention that a couple of
months back I was at the TV station Al Jazeera in the Middle East, and
we were starting to talk to a group, and they asked us where in the
world could you find a space where people could take to the microphone
and speak freely, immediately, and we thought of Venezuela and
communicational experiences like Vive TV and TeleSUR created by the
Bolivarian process.
Vive TV is a new project but it's already
on the cutting edge, and TeleSUR is a project in full flight. TeleSUR
is a tool for integration and communication that should come into its
own, given that its guiding principles are both the south and
socialism. These are two children of revolutionary communication in
this country, these are the spaces where revolutionary ideas have to be
tested, and nobody else has this possibility. It's worth its weight in
gold, believe me! It's an extraordinary opportunity.
If I had to say what the
guidelines should be, I'd say that we should follow this example,
although this isn't enough. For example, we're proposing the
organization of an international current of thinkers, of communicators
who would work in cooperation with process under way in Venezuela,
because it is the most advanced one. We must push it ahead. I've been
helping where I could, we are trying to get everyone who's working in
these media to commit to training themselves and improving the quality
of their programs, so that they can surprise and entice even more.
One
important aspect of strategy is the policy of studying, of generating a
major current of political and economic solidarity with the revolution,
but moreover, to have ethics. It is an unavoidable task, and then we
would have to have a meeting of delegates from all the Latin American
grassroots media movements and sit down to discuss how best to work
together on this experience of Venezuelan communication. We now have a
model of communication, it only needs to grow and mature.
MMC/EC: The
law on Social Responsibility in Radio and Television (Ley de
Responsabilidad Social en Radio y Televisión (Ley Resorte)) in
Venezuela has been attacked repeatedly based on the argument that it
imposes absolute control by the government. The most recent attack has
to do with the distribution of the airwaves. What do you think of this
law?
Dr. Domínguez: The so-called Ley Resorte
is a great tool for social construction in communication. It seems to
me that it needs to be studied, it's a great achievement, we should
learn from it and improve it; I think that we need to base ourselves on
the law and the legitimacy of a process of transformation in the realm
of communication. In addition, we should not only debate in Venezuela
but on a worldwide scale the issue of the airwaves, and we should take
part in that debate, because it's urgent for Mexico to discuss this
issue as well.
Moreover, we need to change both the forms of
making communication and the consciousness of the mass media. In short,
we must place all our scientific knowledge at the disposal of a
country's process of transformation, because science is not a privilege
granted to a handful of people who make a living of this knowledge; in
fact, universities generate the least knowledge in society. Knowledge
is not necessarily to be found in universities, although some people
swear by it.
MMC/EC: Professor, do you plan to carry forth any academic projects here in Venezuela?
Dr. Domínguez: Yes,
I do. We're currently conducting a research project, an applied seminar
to teach at the Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela (UBV, Bolivarian
University of Venezuela), and we're also trying to finalize an
agreement with the Ministry of Communication and Information to have
more seminars in Caracas and elsewhere in the country, where there are
many people who are interested in these projects.
Aside from
that, we'd like to create a space for scientific research in
communication; we are extremely interested in participating in this
process, and I've collected material from different experiences for use
in the spaces that we are creating.
Notes:
(1) T.n.: Fernando Buen Abad
Domínguez is referring to the events of April 11-13, 2002, the failed,
US-backed coup d'état against Venezuelan President Hugo Rafael Chávez
Frías. The 2002 documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (also:
Chávez: Inside the Coup), directed and photographed by Kim Bartley and
Donnacha O'Brian, Ireland, is a must-see that shows events before and
leading up to the coup, the coup itself and the rise of peoples
resistance to regain their democratically elected President. For
groundbreaking evidence on the extent to which the Bush administration
illegally aided the opposition, influenced the Venezuelan military, and
directly and indirectly supported the coup of April 2002, see Eva
Golinger's outstanding investigation: The Chávez Code: Cracking U.S.
Intervention in Venezuela. Havana, Cuban Book Institute, 2005.
Available also in Spanish, Italian, and German language via http://www.venezuelafoia.info/english.html.
(2) T.n.: In this particular
context we highly recommend watching the documentary Llaguno Bridge
Keys to a Massacre by the Cuban filmmaker Angel Palacios who reveals in
stunning detail how the Venezuelan media twisted facts and news to
blame the massacre on President Chávez and the Bolivarians defending
themselves against the shock troops of the Caracas Metropolitan Police.
Quite telling footage on the information and psychological warfare
carried out before, during, and after the April 2002 coup by the
Venezuelan private media -- which have therefore been commonly referred
to as the "Storm Troopers of the Apocalypse" (Jineteras del
Apocalipsis), particularly the four major, privately-owned TV-stations
Globovisión (CEO Alberto Federico Ravell), Venevisión (Gustavo
Cisneros), RCTV (Marcel Granier), and Televen (Omar Camero Zamora) --
is also found in The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.
Editor's Note: These film documentaries: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised and ... Llaguna Bridge: Keys to a Massacre - can be obtained from Axis of Logic - LMB
(3) T.n.: Fernando Buen Abad
Domínguez is referring to an unparalleled program that is being
conducted on Sundays by President Chávez himself, who is carrying forth
exceptional battle at the internal communication and information front
by using this space to personally inform and also to talk directly with
the people about a vast range of topics of political, economic, and
social interest. Aló Presidente starts at 11 AM Venezuela local time,
and can easily last up to 8 hours (...very much to the annoyance of some
Chávez opponents...); it is a live live broadcast by the government TV
that can be accessed on-line: Channel VTV (Venezoalana de Televisión) and RNV (Radio Nacional de Venezuela) and can be accessed on-line.
Original Source in Spanish: Universidad Abierta: Instituto de Investigaciones sobre la Imagen
© Copyright 2007 by AxisofLogic.com (Translation copyright)
Tlaxcala - Translated from Spanish to English by Iris Buehler and revised by James Hollander. Both
are members of Tlaxcala, the network of translators for linguistic
diversity. This translation can be freely reproduced provided its
author, its translator, its revisor and the source are mentioned.
More on Dr. Dominguez:
Fernando Buen Abad Dominguez, 50, has an impressive background in
Image, Communication and Culture, as well as film and television
production, having written and directed 19 audio-visual and
cinematographic works in Mexico, Houston, New York and Argentina. He
has also been part of the jury at many international film and
documentary festivals. An acclaimed professor, he has taught Semiotics,
Cinema, Audio-visual Production, Journalism, Radio, Linguistics, and
Integral Professional Communication. - Aljazeera
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