Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez has recently caused a small uproar when he announced he would not renew the license for Venezuela's oldest commercial broadcaster Radio Caracas Television (RCTV). RCTV debuted on November 15, 1953, and is today one of Venezuela's most watched broadcast stations. It is currently affiliated with Telemundo, the Spanish language television network of NBC Universal. It also provides TV Venezuela, a premium subscription channel available on DirecTv. The Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Jos? Miguel Insulza, who fled from Chile following the coup by General Augosto Pinochet, stated that Chavez's actions give the appearance of censorship against freedom of expression. Isulza warned that the decision runs against the political climate generated at the time of the December elections. ?The closing of a mass communications outlet is a rare step in the history of our hemisphere and has no precedent in the recent decades of democracy,? Insulza affirmed. Chavez's response was referring to Insulza using vulgar language. The Committee to Protect Journalists, the Catholic Church (through the Venezuelan Bishops Conference), Reporters without Borders, Human Rights Watch, the International Press Institute, as well as various governments throughout the hemisphere have been looking at the developments with grave concern for the future of independent media in Venezuela.

Venezuelan communication and information minister William Lara said that the government is considering three options in dealing with RCTV. The first would be to entrust the running of RCTV to community media or small production companies. The second would be to create a mixed broadcast frequency for a company that was half public, half privately-owned. The third option would be for the state to take control of RCTV. Mediation attempts by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights have been fruitless as Lara insisted that the decision not to renew RCTV's license was ?irreversible.? Venezuelan journalists say access to information is routinely denied. According to El Universal newspaper, the government is now planning on closing down press relations offices, with all information going through the communications minister.

All this follows several months of threats against Miguel ?ngel Rodr?guez, the presenter of ?La Entrevista? (The Interview), a program known for its opposition to the government. Shortly after the December elections, it was stated that the license renewal of RCTV would be put up to a referendum. Marcel Granier, CEO of 1BC Enterprises (the group that owns RCTV, amongst other media outlets), stated that it signed a license contract under the 2000 telecommunication law, a year after it took effect. This license expires on June 22, 2022. The government disputes this, claiming that the assignment of a frequency to RCTV expires on May 27th.