vigilant TV

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has threatened to shut down television and radio stations for broadcasting opposition commercials. He has pulled them off the air at least once before.

Venezuela’s main television stations are not broadcasting any commercials except opposition advertisements promoting the strike. Media owners say they have been pushed into this stance because Chavez incites followers to attack reporters.

Chavez threatened to revoke the broadcasting licenses of television and radio stations if they ``continue with their irrational insistence on destabilizing the country by supporting this fascist subversion.’’

– AP, Venezuela Opposition, Military Clash.

[added later] Reuters quotes Chavez as describing television broadcasts as weapons of mass destruction:

He also threatened to revoke the broadcasting licenses of private TV stations that criticize his rule, describing their hostile programming as “worse than an atomic bomb.”

– Reuters, Venezuelan Troops Halt Marchers, Chavez Plays Tough